Freeblade
by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Summary: Imperial Knights are super-heavy walkers bearing immense firepower and capable of massive destruction. Essentially a miniature, one-man version of a Titan, the awe-inspiring presence of even one is enough to change the course of a battle. Renouncing his allegiance to House Yato, the pilot Tanaka becomes a Freeblade to fulfill an oath to fight alongside the Draconian Imperial Guard.
1. Chapter 1: Armored Offensive

Chapter 1: Armored Offensive

The enemy attack came right before dawn.

Colonel Yamada Yosuke had been ready for this. A veteran of several long campaigns, including the grueling siege of the Hive City Yarask, he had long since learned the multitude of assaults that the enemies of the Imperium favored. Whether it was the hit-and-run tactics of Eldar pirates, the near-suicidal but brutal and effective charges of Ork hordes, the relentless tides of Tyranid swarms or the cold and methodical long-range tactics the Tau Empire adopted, he had seen them all. He could not deny that he had lost a good number of those face-offs, but he had also successfully countered and pushed back a significant portion of those invasions.

The Great Enemy was no different. If anything, the strategies they used were probably the closest to the Imperium, the commanders having been former subjects before they turned traitors. Yamada had prepared for it, expected it even.

After all, had he been in the attacking commander's position, it was precisely what he would have done. For one thing, his men were sluggish and sleepy at this hour - an innate psychological human tendency that no amount of training could fully shake off. There was also the advantage of using the darkness as cover. As one ancient holo-vid had put it, the night was darkest just before the dawn. Hit the defenders then, and make use of the approaching brightness to mop up the survivors.

The _Tactica Imperialis_ had often mentioned such crucial timings. That same _Tactica Imperialis_ remained in use despite the traitors' renouncement of the Emperor. Yamada could hardly blame them, though. It contained the most effective military tactics known to man.

Seated in his command station aboard the super-heavy Stormsword tank, _The Emperor's Wrath_ , he smiled grimly. This battle would most likely be decided by the commander with a better grasp of the _Tactica Imperialis_.

"Rouse all our men," he ordered his communications officer, a stout young man by the name of Sato. Even as flashes of light from an artillery barrage lit up the grainy holo-screens, temporarily turning night into day, Sato began shouting into the vox and linking up with the rest of the armored company. "The enemy is approaching from the east, as we were expecting. We're going to counter-charge."

"Yes, sir!" Sato repeated Yamada's instructions and waited for the belated affirmations as tank commanders slowly woke up from the deafening scream of artillery shells and reacting quickly. "All tanks accounted for."

"Very good. Let's begin."

The armored tanks of the 42nd Draconian Armored Defense Force regiment began moving out in a straight line, their heavily armored fronts already facing east. While the overwhelming majority of the artillery shells - presumably fired from stolen Basilisks - missed the armored vehicles entirely, the few that hit that mark harmlessly bounced off the tanks' front armor.

 _If they want to scratch the paint of a Leman Russ tank or Stormsword, they're going to have to do better than that_ , Yamada thought humorlessly. Even then, he reminded himself not to underestimate the enemy. Far too many imperial commanders had fallen into the trap of thinking that they had the Emperor's divine protection and made rash, reckless choices that doomed their regiments.

"Get the Vanquishers and Main Battle Tanks to open up with long-range fire support. Especially the Vanquishers. The moment they see an enemy tank, take it out."

"Yes, sir."

The vox channel must be open, for the next moment a Leman Russ Vanquisher, _The Seals of Purity_ , opened fire. A high-pitched whine sailed through the air as the Vanquisher's signature armor-piercing round flew at hypersonic speeds and drilled right through the heavily armored front of a traitor Leman Russ tank. The tainted tank, which now bore the spikes and markings of Chaos, lurched backward before exploding into a shower of scrap.

"Good shot!"

The tank commander of _The Seals of Purity_ was Sergeant Haise, and the gunner was Jumonji. Jumonji was one of the most accurate shots in the regiment, and boasted a few hundred armored kills in his long career. Despite his age, his skills had not declined.

Yamada was glad to have him on his side.

The other Leman Russ Vanquishers opened fire as well, with varying degrees of success. Spiky, chaotic Chimeras APCs were ripped open, the cultists in them swallowed by fiery explosions as armored-piercing rounds penetrated the transports' meager protection. Other Leman Russ tanks - mostly Leman Russ Main Battle Tanks and Leman Russ Exterminators - also blew up, with the latter unable to fire back. The Leman Russ Main Battle Tanks traded fire with the Loyalists, who replied with a barrage of ordnance that were directed not at the vehicles, but the occupants spilling out of doomed transports to find better cover.

Yamada watched with satisfaction as cultists were reduced to bloody mists and fleshy pulps as the Leman Russ Battle Tank's ordnance rounds found their mark. The shockwave from these projectiles were so large that the tanks didn't even need a direct hit. A cultist caught by a glancing shockwave of the main battle tanks' cannons was sent tumbling head over heels into the dirt.

However, the Great Enemy had a lot more numbers than the single regiment sent here to stop them. More Chimera APCs poured out, and even a few Rhino APCs had joined the fray. At the back was a Land Raider, and even though _The Seals of Purity_ managed to blow a massive, gaping hole in the horrifying armored personnel carrier, Yamada could see heavily armored figures jumping out of the smoking vehicle with predatory elegance.

Traitor Astartes. They were here too.

Those Chaos Space Marines that avoided the largely inaccurate fire of the Leman Russ Main Battle Tanks, largely thanks to their superhuman reflexes, bounded over the blasted landscape. A few were caught and vaporized by the huge ordnance, their power armor no match for the heavy firepower. However, many more were effortlessly evading the rain of destruction, slowly but surely advancing toward the approaching column of armor.

Well, that could be remedied.

"Leman Russ Executioners," Yamada said, confident that Sato would repeat his words into the vox-net. "Execute those traitor Astartes. Show them the moment they turned their backs on the Emperor, they're no longer fit to call themselves the finest."

As one, the Leman Russ Executioner tanks roared as they unleashed blue volleys of plasma, the fury of stars condensed into devastating blobs of energy that vaporized the incoming Chaos Space Marines. Even a squad of Terminators, whose Tactical Dreadnaught Armor were casually shrugging off fire from even the main battle tanks' ordnance, were annihilated when the five figures were caught flat-footed by a crisscrossing blast of plasma from two Executioners.

"Hell yeah!" Yamada pumped his fist into the air. "The Terminators have been terminated!"

The rest of his Stormsword crew ignored him, already used to his eccentric jokes.

However, the sheer number of cultists climbing out of wrecked Chimera APCs, and even a sizable Chaos Space Marine force from immobilized Rhinos were still making their way toward the indomitable advance of armor. Unlike the opposing force, Yamada did not have the large numbers of infantry to match them. The Draconian Armored Defense Force had always been primarily a tank company composed mostly of armored tanks, supported by a few squadrons of Vendetta gunships. What few infantry they did have had been organized into the Kamikaze Troopers, the Draconian ADF's counterpart for the Cadian Kasrkin and Death Korps of Krieg's Grenadiers. Even now, they should be en route via Vendetta gunshps, ready to grav-chute down into their location with disciplined and precise volleys of hot-shot las-fire, but at the moment Yamada had to make do without them.

Fortunately, he had an answer.

"Leman Russ Punishers, punish these traitors with extreme prejudice."

The Leman Russ Punisher tanks, normally built as siege tanks in urban warfare, had been leading the armored column this entire time. Not because they were expendable - no, every Leman Russ tank was a valuable resource to the Imperium, sometimes even more so than the crew crewing them - but because of the extremely short range of their Punisher Gatling cannons. All this while they had been accelerating forward without firing, but that was because they were bereft of targets. Now that they had hordes of cultists and even scores of Chaos Space Marines racing toward them, they could unleash whatever hell they had been storing up.

It was like shooting turkey in a barrel.

The Punisher Gatling cannons whirled before spitting out a punishing streams of rounds that tore the first line of advancing cultists into shreds. Splattered by the blood of their comrades, the cultists behind were instead spurred on and charged in with renewed ferocity. The insidious influence of Khorne, no doubt, even though it was hard to tell if these were really Khornate cultists. Nonetheless, the Leman Russ Punishers did not decline the invitation and they continued to pour out a deadly hail of bullets that smashed the next line. And the line after that. And the line behind that.

It was a slaughter.

There were several explosions that dotted across the cultists' lines. Apparently a good number of them had been carrying flamers, and several stray punisher rounds had penetrated the promethium fuel tanks in spectacular fashion, igniting whole blobs in blazing fireworks.

 _Maybe the commander didn't read the_ Tactica Imperialis _after all._ Even Yamada was surprised by how one-sided the fight had become. The inexorable advance of the two armored columns had finally met, and despite their best efforts, the tainted Leman Russ Exterminators were unable to exterminate their armored opponents. The Leman Russ Vanquishers continued to vanquish them at an alarming rate, their cannons a hard counter to any armored vehicle.

The enemy probably didn't do enough research on the Imperial Guard that was sent to crush them. Or perhaps Lord General Leeds had his operatives feed them false intelligence before cunningly switching things up and placing the Draconian ADF here to face an ill-equipped force. Judging from their weapons, which included the flamers that were still blowing up as punisher rounds ripped them apart, and the heavy bolters that the Chaos Space Marines were carrying, the enemy had expected to face a well-entrenched infantry defense.

Instead, they found themselves confronting the armored front of behemoth tanks. Had they been carrying meltaguns, melta-bombs and other anti-tank weapons, Yamada would have been worried. However, he saw no sign of those, not even a missile launcher or lascannon. The only thing that could remotely threaten them was a single plasma cannon wielded by a Chaos Space Marine, but he was brought down by concerted fire from Leman Russ Executioners and Leman Russ Main Battle Tanks before he got close enough to use it.

"Shall we open fire too, sir?"

Yamada nodded at his gunner's request. Takahashi had been waiting for permission to pull the trigger, and rightly so. The Stormsword siege cannon mounted aboard _The Emperor's Wrath_ was a horrifying weapon that unleashed destruction of immeasurable magnitude. It was not a weapon that could simply be fired as and when Takahashi wished.

"Aim for the back, Takahashi. Try not to hit our own tanks."

Takahashi grinned before adjusting his aim and pulling the trigger.

The Stormsword rocked as its cannon shrieked, a massive projectile propelling from its short barrel and whistling toward the center of the massed ranks of the enemy. In an instant, an entire section of the horde was obliterated. It was as if an entire segment had simply vanished, leaving nothing but a massive, smoking crater in its wake.

The Stormsword siege cannon was designed to blow apart cover, a monster capable of single-handedly breaking sieges in urban warfare. The sheer power of the projectile was capable of ripping apart even a Leman Russ tank, and no one, not even an Astartes in Terminator armor, could survive a direct hit. Additionally, its area of effect was ridiculously massive, easily covering several blocks in a typical Hive neighborhood.

It was also the pride and joy of the Draconian ADF. Thanks to their well-established relationship with the neighboring Forge World of Draconis IV, the ADF received a consistent supply of Stormsword tanks to bolster their armored forces. It was also the reason why they could afford to run a tank company. Draconis IV gave them priority in receiving the Leman Russ tanks that streamed out of their production lines.

 _I almost feel bad for them_ , Yamada thought as he watched another group of cultists and Chaos Space Marines vanished under another apocalyptic blast from the Stormsword siege cannon. _Almost. Well, it's their fault for turning away from the Emperor's light._

Just when Yamada thought this was going to be a rout, the tables were turned.

Suddenly, one of the Leman Russ Punishers exploded. Yamada jerked up and stared at that particular holo-screen, trying to absorb what had just happened. Did the enemy finally scavenge a melta weapon?

However, as he watched, the terrifying whir of a giant chainsword filled the air, slicing through the husk of the doomed Punisher and dropping it to the ground. A large, shadowy shape walked through the smoke, its hulking form crushing both the remnants of the tank and cultists unfortunate enough to be in its way.

"That's..."

Another Punisher tank was crushed, lifted up as giant metallic fingers curled around it, crushing the armored vehicle as a destructive energy field hummed around it. Spinning around, the towering figure threw the poor tank at another nearby Punisher, overturning the latter and sending it spinning across the ground. The tank that was used as a projectile skidded across the ground, leaving black trail marks, before it finally crumpled, the devastating energy field taking its toll.

As the armored humanoid reared to its full height and advanced toward a hapless Executioner, missiles streaking from a rectangular box atop its head, Yamada finally saw what it was.

"A Chaos Knight."

A chill ran down his back. Knights were awesome, mechanical armored suits piloted by nobles. Armed with powerful, highly destructive weapons that could even threaten a Titan, Knights were also protected by a-near impenetrable ion shield and thick, adamantine armor that the Mechanicus forged with painstaking effort. They were mini-Titans, small versions of the Emperor's God-Machines themselves, but no less terrifying.

With their immense firepower, the intimidating presence of a Knight was always welcomed in the battlefield. Conversely, the Chaos Knight's appearance as an enemy was just as demoralizing to his men as it would have been had he a Knight on his side.

Sensing that the tables had turned, the cultists and Chaos Space Marines sprinted forward in renewed vigor, drawing chainswords, power weapons and other melee weapons that would crack open the tanks that were thrown into a disarray by the Chaos Knight's interference. Yamada heard screams over the vox as one tank blew up, and another taken by the enemy.

 _This can't be happening. This can't be happening!_

The battle, which had been going so well until now, had abruptly altered its flow, the imperial defenders finding the tide inexorably turned against them. His hands trembling as he gripped the armrests of his command chair, Yamada gazed numbly at the flickering holo-screens that featured tanks being destroyed by Chaos Space Marines and the Chaos Knight. This close, he could see the former in their red power armor, bearing the familiar markings of Khorne. He did not recognize the chapter symbols, however, but was vaguely aware that they were slight different from World Eaters. Most likely they were a splinter chapter that broke off from the original XII-th Legion.

"...do, sir? Sir?"

Sato's voice brought Yamada back to reality. He realized that his communications officer had been speaking to him for the past minute or so.

"Are you listening, sir?"

"Uh, yes. Report status."

"We lost _The Divine Faith_ and _Unity in Strength_. The _Severe Retribution_ is heavily damage and immobilized, sir. They are requesting for help. On the left flank, _The Killing Ground_ has been overwhelmed by Khorne Berserkers."

Yamada nodded absent-mindedly as he glanced at the respective holo-screens, watching the destruction of his tanks and the deaths of his men.

"What should we do, sir?"

Yamada gritted his teeth as he desperately glanced through the flickering holo-screens, trying to suppress the frustration that welled within him. No matter how many scenarios and plans he went through his head, there seemed to be only one viable answer.

"Fall back. Spread the word to the entire squadron. Keep their distance from the Knight. Get the Leman Russ Vanquishers to provide cover fire. The Main Battle Tanks should also launch a bombardment to keep the infantry from following us. Make sure all the tanks reverse - keep the front armor facing the enemy. That will increase their chances of survival."

"What about the _Severe Retribution_ , sir?"

"Let me speak to Sergeant Shimada." Sato nodded and Yamada picked up the vox at his station. "Sergeant Shimada, this is Colonel Yamada." He waited for an acknowledgement. "I'm sorry, but you're on your own. I can't spare any reinforcements. Try to take down as many enemies as you can. The Emperor protects."

"The Emperor protects," Shimada echoed, his voice tense. Over the vox, Yamada could hear bloodcurdling cries of frenzied cultists penetrating the crumbling armored walls of the immobilized Punisher tank. "You heard the colonel, men. Let's make sure we go out with a bang."

As the armored column retreated, the Vanquishers fired volleys of armor-piercing rounds at the nimble Chaos Knight. The Chaos Knight evaded most of the rounds with a grace that belied its massive size, and the few rounds that found their mark (Yamada could see Jumonji landing a hit with pinpoint accuracy) were deflected by an ion shield that flared bright whenever projectiles bounced off it. The pilot had cleverly positioned his ion shield to deflect the worst of the blasts.

"We need something bigger," Yamada murmured to himself. Turning to Takahashi, he growled. "Takahashi, fire the Stormsword siege cannon at that abomination."

"We're too close, sir. Some of our tanks will get caught in the blast."

"They will get ripped apart by that Emperor-damned Knight anyway if we don't do anything. Just fire!"

"Aye, sir."

Takahashi complied grimly and shifted his aim. The short barrel of the Stormsword tilted and pointed at the grey-green armor of the Chaos Knight, whose machine-spirit was howling with unbridled rage over the vox. Some kind of corrupted code...Yamada would need the tanks' vox systems scrubbed clean if they ever make it back to base.

He didn't recognize the desecrated heraldry on the Knights' tattered livery, its former beauty stripped bare by corruption. It wasn't from any of the Knightly houses from Draconis III, which gave him some sort of relief. He would have no qualms bringing the Knight down.

A roar shuddered through _The Emperor's Wrath_ as Takahashi squeezed the trigger. His aim was true - the massive projectile impacted against the front of the Chaos Knight and exploded, sending the great machine reeling back from the force as its ion shields flickered. Taking advantage of the Knight's fading shields, the Vanquishers flung a volley of armor-piercing shells at it. The Chaos Knight let out a bestial bellow as the rounds cracked its adamantine armor, blowing off pieces of metal from its corrupted body.

However, it still wouldn't go down.

"Continue the retreat!" Yamada ordered. "Full gear in reverse! Concentrate fire on the traitor Knight if you can, but prioritize the retreat. I doubt it's going down so easily."

He gazed at the Chaos Knight, which had dropped to a knee as Vanquisher rounds blew off chunks from its carapace. A few missiles from its Ironstorm missile pod straked out and impacted harmlessly against the Leman Russ Vanquishers, but while they did little to no damage, the mild explosions were sufficient to throw off the gunners' aim.

"Takahashi, fire again."

"Aye, sir."

This time, the Chaos Knight lurched to its feet when it noticed the projectile coming straight at it. Swiftly dodging it, it angled its ion shield to protect it from the worst of the blast when the Stormsword siege round went over its head and detonated behind. Leaping, it landed right next to a struggling Executioner tank, and kicked it over before ravaging it with its reaper chainsword.

Yamada grimaced as he heard the dying shouts of his men as the Executioner was split open. The Knight must have ruptured something in the Executioner's volatile and unstable plasma weaponry for the helpless tank erupted in a superheated explosion of plasma that washed over the Chaos Knight's recovering ion shield.

"Damn it."

The Stormsword might have excelled in line-breaking and flushing out firmly entrenched infantry in densely populated urban areas, but it was not designed to duel another super-heavy. Right now Yamada wished he had a Shadowsword by his side. The volcano cannon would have vaporized the Chaos Knight in a single hit, and not merely send it staggering about like the powerful but inefficient Stormsword siege round.

"Continue support fire!"

While the Leman Russ Punishers were still making mincemeat of cultists and occasionally an unlucky Chaos Space Marine, their numbers were slowly dwindling thanks to the Knight's charge. Left to fend for themselves, they were vulnerable to the charging masses of infantry, their slowly-depleting ammunition running out at an incredible rate. Without the support fire from the Leman Russ Main Battle Tanks, which were ineffectively taking potshots at the Chaos Knight and either missing entirely or harmlessly bounced off its ion shield and thick armor, they were getting picked off.

"Tell the main battle tanks and Executioners to redirect their fire at the infantry. Only the Vanquishers should aim for the Knight. And you too, Takahashi. Don't let your sight wander."

"Yes, sir."

"I'm on it."

Yamada knew that with the sheer amount of shots he had from so many Vanquishers, he would eventually be able to bring down the Knight. However, the question was whether he could destroy the Chaos Knight before it reached the rest of his armored column. His tanks were helpless in close range.

On the other hand, the Chaos Knight was clearly a Knight Gallant. A monster constructed solely for melee combat, it had traded its conventional knight weapons to specialize in close combat, and thus sported its signature reaper chainsword and a Thunderstrike gauntlet, both of which were devastating to vehicles and huge xenos creatures alike.

The moment it got in the middle of the tank company, they were all doomed.

Despite the full retreat, the Chaos Knight was slowly catching up while dodging the majority of the Vanquisher rounds. Another Stormsword siege round found its mark, stunning the Knight for a few seconds as it struggled to bring its ion shield online while weathering the volley of armor-piercing fire from the Vanquishers. However, grabbing a nearby Punisher tank that had ground to a halt after running over too many cultists, it hurled it at the long-range tanks, blocking their line of sight and forcing them to scatter from the makeshift projectile.

Screams, followed by an explosion rang across the vox as the Punisher smashed into the ground and shattered into a fiery contraptions. Yamada clenched his fists, his fingers digging deeply into his palms as he desperately sought a way out of the crisis. All hopes of victory gone, he could only pray to the Emperor to spare his men.

"Sir! The Knight is almost upon us!"

The Chaos Knight had marked out _The Emperor's Wrath_ as the flagship tank and was bounding toward it. A typical strategy that was as effective as it was old. Cut off the head by killing the command, and the rest of the body would fall apart.

Yamada would have complimented the beast on its intelligence if he wasn't its target.

"Takahashi!"

"We won't make it in time!"

The gunner was yelling over the screeching of the auto-loaders as _The Emperor's Wrath_ struggled to reload the next Stormsword siege round. Yamada ground his teeth and watched the holo-screen with an air of inevitability as the Knight closed in, its hideous image growing larger with each step. Its whirring reaper chainsword was almost upon them...

And then it suddenly reeled to the side as several ordnance rounds smacked into its right.

"Emperor in Terra..." Yamada whispered, taken aback by the sudden salvation. As the Knight staggered, more rounds struck its side armor, giving _The Emperor's Wrath_ time to pull the distance between them further.

The Chaos Knight had directed its ion shield to the front - undeniably a potent defense that had thus far thwarted the Leman Russ Vanquisher's attempts to bring it down and one powerful enough to endure a direct hit from a Stormsword siege round. However, in doing so, it had left its side and flanks bare. While in effect a miniature one-man Titan, the Knight's generators still weren't powerful enough to produce an ion shield that could envelope the entire suit. Possessing barely sufficient power to project an impenetrable ion shield on only one side, Knights were often trained to not allow themselves to be surrounded.

Glancing across his series of holo-screens, Yamada caught sight of his regiment's savior. A nearly identical mechanical suit lumbered into view, its black and gold armor proudly bearing the livery of House Yato. Unlike the corrupted Knight Gallant, the newcomer was equipped with a rapid-fire battle cannon that was a more efficient version of the weapon mounted on Leman Russ Main Battle Tanks, and an Avenger Gatling cannon on its left with an underslung heavy flamer. It was firing with the former now, the high ordnance shells slapping the adamantine surface of the Chaos Knight.

However, the Knight Gallant reared up and deftly dodged to the side, bringing its shielded front to meet the new threat. The Loyalist Knight Crusader came to a stop and maintained its distance, its Avenger Gatling cannon whirring to spew a deadly stream of uranium rounds.

"Thank the Emperor," Yamada whispered, conscious that his crew and regiment were probably mumbling the same thing. The presence of the Imperial Knight had sparked renewed hope and belief in the Loyalists, its awe-inspiring figure alone halting the panic that had spread across the armored column during their retreat.

As if aware of the impact his machine had on the Imperial Guardsmen' morale, the pilot of the Knight Crusader opened a channel to the loyalists' vox network.

"This is Tanaka Tomoyuki of House Yato. I've come to reinforce the 42nd Draconian Armored Defense Force regiment. Let's flush out every traitor from this world. For the Emperor!"

A cheer erupted across the 42nd Draconian regiment as the tanks halted their retreat and resumed their armored advance, their cannons barking in unison at the disbelieving traitors.


	2. Chapter 2: A Knight's Duel

Chapter 2: A Knight's Duel

The Knight Crusader, _Ryujin_ , was a relatively young machine.

The Adeptus Mechanicus had settled on Draconis IV primarily for one reason. On the agri-world of Draconis III, a fully intact Standard Template Construct remained, a rare relic of the past that held the secrets of lost technology. This particular STC possessed the production methods for the Knight suits that the nobles of Draconis III piloted since a time forgotten to protect the population from xeno monsters thriving inside lush verdant forests all over the planet.

Negotiating a deal with the owners of the STC, Houses Yato, Takeda and Uesugi, the Adeptus Mechanicus were "loaned" the STC. In return, they manufactured vast numbers of Knights to supply the three Knight houses on Draconis III, allowing the combined might of the three houses to be among the greatest in the Imperium – second only to House Raven.

 _Ryujin_ , despite being rolled out of the smoking forges of Draconis IV a mere century ago, had experienced more than its fair share of combat. Whether it was the immense monstrous creatures that infested the forests of home, or deadly xenos behemoths that ranged from the graceful Wraith-constructs of the Eldar to the crude but brutal forms of Ork Stompas and Gargants, and even the lethal bio-titans of the Tyranid hordes, _Ryujin_ had faced them all and survived.

Even now, Tanaka could hear the ghostly voices of past pilots floating around in his Throne Mechanicum, their aggressive emotions seeping into him. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down and faced the Great Enemy.

The existence of a Chaos Knight was an affront to all Imperial Knights, a blasphemous horror that stood against everything the noble pilots had sworn to protect and serve. By abandoning his oath and turning his back on the God-Emperor, the pilot of the Chaos Knight was beyond redemption. Only death awaited such a traitor.

"My name is Tanaka Tomoyuki, of House Yato." Tanaka opened up his vox channel to broadcast his challenge. "Identify yourself, traitor, as the etiquettes of Knightly houses demand it."

The only reply was a hateful hissing from the vox, a scream of corrupted code that forced Tanaka to shut off his vox to prevent _Ryujin_ 's systems from being compromised. He would not end up like the Chaos Knight from some unknowable house. The grey-green armor was unfamiliar, and the once-proud heraldry had now been overwritten by blood and accursed symbols that made his skin crawl. No matter. He would correct that soon enough.

As the Chaos Knight charged at him, Tanaka opened up with a barrage of high-caliber rounds from his Avenger Gatling cannon. The armor-piercing rounds smacked against the front adamantine armor of the enemy Knight, but failed to penetrate.

An Ironstorm missile blasted from the pod mounted atop the Chaos Knight's spiky carapace, but also did no damage to _Ryujin_ , whose armor shrugged off the mild explosion. In response, Tanaka fired three missiles from the Stormspear rocket pod attached to the top of his carapace. The first missile went wide, burying itself in the side of an unfortunate tainted Chimera before blowing the APC up with its occupants within. The other two missiles slammed into the Chaos Knight, who withstood the deadly projectiles with its shimmering ion shield. Its charge was slowed down by a mere fraction, but it was still barreling toward the _Ryujin_.

Swallowing, Tanaka had his knight back away. Circling his opponent, he let loose another couple of heavy ordnance from his rapid-fire battle cannon, hoping to get direct hits against the Chaos Knight's unshielded side. However, the enemy seemed to have anticipated his tactic and had revolved around to continue facing him, even as it persistently closed in.

For all his bravado in his challenge, Tanaka was not confident in taking on the Chaos Knight in close combat. The Knight Crusader lacked the reaper chainsword and Thunderstrike gauntlet that the other variants of Knights possessed, having traded those close combat weapons for an extra primary weapon. In contrast, while the Knight Gallant lacked long-range firepower that the other variants had in their primary weapons, its reaper chainsword and Thunderstrike gauntlet made it a monster in melee. If it would ever get within range of _Ryujin_ , it would absolutely tear the Knight Crusader apart.

Tanaka's only hope was to bombard the Chaos Knight with enough firepower to blow it up before it had him within its grasp.

Firing another barrage of depleted uranium rounds, Tanaka sought to widen the distance while keeping his main guns on the Chaos Knight. The two massive machines were locked in a deadly dance, one aggressively rushing in, the other slowly teasing the distance between them apart.

As he backed away, Tanaka became aware that he was wading right into a horde of cultists and Chaos Space Marines, whose handheld weapons pinged uselessly against his thick adamantine armor. He was relieved that none of them were wielding melta weapons, or he would find the back of his suit melting away.

As if on cue, the Chaos Knight's meltagun roared, the thermal stream of energy dissipating harmlessly against his ion shield. Keeping his sights on the Chaos Knight, Tanaka fired another round from his battle cannon, driving it back temporarily. Switching holo-screens, he tapped on the targeting auspexes and rotated his heavy stubbers to aim at the cultists. Those that weren't stomped flat by _Ryujin_ 's mechanical feet were shredded by the automatic fire. After unloading another barrage of Avenger rounds into the Chaos Knight, Tanaka then turned the huge weapon around to unleash a large gout of blazing promethium from the underslung heavy flamer. Cultists screamed as their bodies caught fire, but their deaths were mercifully short, their corpses reduced into ash in mere seconds.

With the horde of cultists at his feet dead, Tanaka then returned to facing the advancing Chaos Knight, inadvertently stomping on a Chaos Space Marine who had gotten too zealous in trying to plant a melta-bomb on his knight's leg. That would have worked, for melta-bombs contained enough power to melt through the reinforced hulls of a spaceship, but before he could do it, he was crushed by Tanaka's stumbling Knight and reduced into a red paste, his blood now indistinguishable from his shattered armor.

As Tanaka tried to dodge the Chaos Knight's charge, another wave of cultists came at him from behind. These ones seemed like they could do some real damage, with many of them having high-powered explosives strapped onto them. Some were in fact carrying melta-bombs, and clearly had no qualms in sacrificing themselves for the greater good of Khorne. Screaming to their false gods, their voices were loud enough that Tanaka could hear them over his projected holo-screens and sensors.

"Blood for the blood god!"

"Well, he can have yours!" Tanaka snapped, trying to turn his heavy flamer on them. It was dangerous to have his attention divided, particularly with the Chaos Knight almost breathing down on him, but he had no choice. The rear armor of his Knight was the thinnest, and a melta-bomb would most certainly bring down _Ryujin_ if he wasn't careful. It was one thing to be destroyed by an enemy knight in glorious combat, but it was another to be brought down by mere cultist scum.

Tanaka wasn't afraid of dying, but he would rather die at the end of a reaper chainsword after a valiant duel than an ignominious, pathetic death at the hands of a frakking _commoner_ with a melta-bomb.

Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about that. A hail of punishing rounds cut the cultists down before they could reach him, ripping them apart in clouds of red blood and stripes of flesh. Glancing at another holo-screen, Tanaka saw that the Draconian Armored Defense Force had come to back him up. The 42nd regiment wasn't going to let him hog all the glory.

That suited him fine. It was infinitely better to share the honor of felling foes than to die alone in combat.

The black and gold Leman Russ tanks of the 42nd Draconian ADF were rolling out, almost invisible in the night. The reason why the tanks and uniforms of the Draconians were mostly black was because the unit excelled in night-fighting. That was why Yamada had approved of the dawn attack. In fact, Tanaka was willing to bet that Colonel Yamada would have led a dawn attack if he wasn't ordered to hold position and defend this sector by the Lord General overseeing the reclamation of this planet.

Ishtar would be brought back to the Imperium soon enough.

However, the enemy had chosen their timing well. Dawn was beginning to break and the first rays of Ishtar's yellow sun were seeping across the horizon. When that happened, the black and gold tanks would be clearly visible…not that it made much of a difference. The cultists had been rushing toward the Leman Russ tanks during the night, probably drawn by the muzzle flash and thunderous roar of heavy weaponry. On the other hand, it was probably thanks to the dark camouflage that hid them so well in the shadows that the Draconian ADF didn't suffer any losses to anti-tank weaponry mounted on the enemy's armored vehicles.

Then again, the enemy should have been equipped with night-goggles and infrared, or it would defeat the purpose of them fighting at night to begin with. The Chaos Space Marines, particularly, should have the equipment. They might have fallen from grace, but their fighting skills and strategies evidently had not dulled…if you could call charging at tanks in a suicidal manner strategic. Then again, Khorne Berserkers were not known for anything more complex than charge and whack.

The Chaos Knight, responsible for so much destruction sown within the Draconian ranks, was probably equipped with similar night vision. That meant Tanaka was unable to make use of the cover the mainly black paint provided him at night. Well, the gold embroidery and layers ruined the cover somewhat, but most of his Knight was shrouded in the shadows, much like the Draconians' Leman Russ tanks. Good if the enemy had nothing more than eyes, bad if he had night vision.

However, none of that mattered now. When Tanaka looked up from the advancing black and gold line, he saw that the Chaos Knight was too close now. Raising his battle cannon, he fired two point-blank shells into the enemy's corrupted face, staggering the spiky machine but unable to slow its charge long enough for him to pull away.

"This isn't good!"

Tanaka tried to dodge the Chaos Knight's lunge, the crackling energy field on its reaper chainsword missing his knight by mere centimeters. Stepping to the side, he swung his Avenger Gatling cannon to knock away the Thunderstrike gauntlet that reached out for him, purposely avoiding the crackling energy field that coated the hand and fingers and aiming for the arm instead.

Gritting his teeth, Tanaka sent a gout of fire from his heavy flamer washing over the Chaos Knight's front. The inferno did nothing to the Chaos Knight, whose armor protected it from the worst of the flames, but he managed to disorientate the enemy's optical sensors long enough for him to disengage and retreat.

"That was too close!"

Keeping the blazing stream of promethium on the confused Chaos Knight, Tanaka squeezed the trigger and let loose another hail of armor-piercing rounds. The Chaos Knight's ion shield flickered as it deflected most of the projectiles and the heat, the daemonic machine screeching as it reared to its full height and rushed through the flames.

Tanaka had _Ryujin_ spin away, just enough so that the Chaos Knight went barreling past him. The Chaos Knight swung its reaper chainsword to the right, barely missing _Ryujin_ 's front armor by a hair's breadth.

Exhaling in relief, Tanaka continued to back away, hosing the growling Chaos Knight with his Avenger Gatling cannon. The rounds might prove ineffective, but it kept his opponent off balance and distracted it. He complemented the volley of high-caliber bullets with another three missiles from his Stormspear rocket pod, the projectiles detonating against the Chaos Knight's ion shield.

Bellowing over the vox, the corrupted Knight turned and charged again. Tanaka performed a tricky maneuver that had his Knight tilt over and stumble just out of reach of the Chaos Knight's Thunderstrike gauntlet before unloading another couple of shells from his battle cannon into its unshielded side.

The Chaos Knight shuddered from the impact at pointblank range, but did not fall. Snarling, it turned on him, its reaper chainsword slicing upward at a deadly arc. Tanaka tried to evade, but the screaming blade ripped out the heavy stubber right next to _Ryujin_ 's face, leaving smoke and sparks in its wake. Part of the battle cannon was also nicked, a large chunk of adamantine gouged out of the arm.

"Damn it!"

Ignoring the damage reports that were yelling warnings all over his Throne Mechanicum, Tanaka had _Ryujin_ plant a foot on the Chaos Knight's middle and kick it away, sending it stumbling back. Using the momentum and opposing force generated from the blow, Tanaka had his suit retreat a few meters. Firing another shell, which creaked in protest as the damaged battle cannon struggled to load with its damaged mechanism, the recoil sent the Knight stagger further back and away from the surprised enemy. Probably because it thought the Knight Crusader was completely helpless in combat.

Not so. Even without the destroyer-strength melee weapons that most of its brethren were equipped with, the Knight Crusader was still formidable in combat. Super-heavy walkers still possessed immense strength capable of crushing tanks and enemy monstrous creatures. Size matters.

Outraged at being knocked back by such a ludicrous attack, the Chaos Knight rounded on the retreating _Ryujin_ in fury. It was hurt, it was damaged by Tanaka's constant barrage of ordnance and armor-piercing projectiles. But the _Ryujin_ was wounded more grieviously. Tanaka doubted the battle cannon could fire, and that was probably the only weapon that was actually effective against the heavily armored knight.

Salvation came in an unexpected form.

As the Chaos Knight made to lunge at Tanaka and _Ryujin_ , it suddenly lurched forward as a series of explosions lit up its back. Confused, Tanaka consulted his holo-screens, only to see what had happened. A series of chatter over the vox added on to the information, and he understood what had just happened.

"Fire! All Leman Russ Vanquishers, fire upon the enemy Knight!"

Colonel Yamada was yelling over the vox, and his men were complying. The Leman Russ Vanquishers had lined up in a neat row, their long barrels pointing at the Chaos Knight, whose unshielded rear was exposed to the black tanks of the Draconians. The Leman Russ Vanquishers had taken advantage of this opportunity to drill their armor-piercing anti-tank rounds into the back of the Chaos Knight. Even now, the massive projectiles were penetrating the Chaos Knight's vulnerable rear armor, burying themselves deeply in the suit before exploding and lighting up critical systems.

The Chaos Knight wavered for a moment before landing on its knees, its Thunderstrike gauntlet thrown out to stop itself from falling further. The bombardment from the Leman Russ Vanquishers continued mercilessly, blowing off more chunks from the Chaos Knight. As the traitor pilot struggled to angle his failing ion shield to protect his damaged rear, Tanaka stepped forward.

"Oh no, you don't."

Three missiles smashed right into the face of the Chaos Knight, disorientating it further. The Chaos Knight, rocked by another volley from the Vanquishers, finally fell forward, its ion shield giving out in a shower of sparks. Aiming at its damaged back, Tanaka fired another three missiles from my Stormspear rocket pod, the projectiles finding their ways through the gaping holes the Vanquishers had opened up and detonating within.

They must have hit the reactor, for the next moment the Chaos Knight lit up in an apocalyptic display, its explosion engulfing all nearby cultists and Chaos Space Marines, annihilating them. The survivors pulled back, their zeal for Khorne visibly dampened at the destruction of their champion. Tanaka's holo-screens still fizzling from the massive explosion, he targeted the fleeing cultists with his remaining heavy stubber and pulled the trigger.

"The Emperor is not going to let you get away with betraying Him."

Just as Tanaka said that, a couple of red warning alerts flashed across his holo-screens. Looking up, he saw two Stormraven gunships descend from above, their engines screaming as they spat death. Both were equipped with multi-meltas and lascannons, the destructive thermal energies of both weapons slamming into my Knight and sending it rocking back.

"Gah!" Tanaka struggled to maintain control of his damaged Knight as he routed all power to his ion shield. The ion shield flickered as it withstood another couple of beams from the anti-tank barrages, but as impenetrable as it was, it wouldn't be long before it was overloaded and gave out.

Gritting his teeth, Tanaka responded by firing another volley of Avenger rounds, and a few potshots with his Stormspear rocket pod, hoping to hit the zooming flyers. Being so high ahead and screeching across the gradually brightening sky at supersonic speeds, most of his attacks missed, and the few Avenger rounds that found their mark were deflected by the gunships' heavy armor.

Trying to track the flyers that zoomed past him overhead, Tanaka had _Ryujin_ turn around to keep his front armor and guns facing them. Their multi-meltas barked again, and while the ion shield blocked the first two, the third sent it sizzling away. The fourth multi-melta shot blew a molten hole through _Ryujin_ 's face, the damage almost reaching to the Throne Mechanicum.

 _That was close_ , Tanaka thought as he read the damage report. _Just a few more meters and that shot would have taken out the Throne Mechanicum_.

Not to mention, him as well…which was not a pleasant thought. The ghosts of previous pilots stirred, their anger ignited by the damage the Knight was taking. Tanaka tried to wave them away, but he was vaguely aware that each one of them had died in combat, while piloting this suit. Fighting Eldar wraith-constructs, Ork machines and Tyranid bio-titans had not come without cost. Often, _Ryujin_ was sent back to the forge world of Draconis IV to be repaired, its pilot killed in action.

If the corrupted Stormravens circled around and fired another shot, Tanaka would join the ranks of the deceased.

Swallowing his pride, Tanaka flicked one of the controls to open a vox channel to the command Stormsword super-heavy tank, which was moving back to avoid being the next target. Which, as the biggest vehicle in the army, would be the case after the _Ryujin_ was destroyed.

"Colonel Yamada, I don't suppose you have a Hydra?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Yamada must have sensed the despair in Tanaka's voice, but he still sounded cheerful. "But I do have something better."

Tanaka was about to say that he hoped it would come soon when the cry of Vendetta gunship engines drowned out the vox. Looking up, he saw a squadron of three Vednetta gunships swoop down, emptying their cargo of Kamikaze Troopers, who were making their descent via grav-chute insertion drops. As the Kamikaze Troopers drifted down, they unloaded a deadly rain of hot-shot las-fire from their hot-shot lasguns and hot-shot volley guns into the fleeing cultists and Chaos Space Marines who were trying to escape the vengeful wrath of pursuing Leman Russ Punishers.

A second later, the Vendetta gunships swerved up sharply, their triple lascannons opening up. Nine ruby-red beams stabbed out into the air, but only four of them hit the closest Stormraven. One dissipated harmlessly against its thick armor, but the other three managed to get through.

And three were enough.

As the lascannon beams tore through the Stormraven, it dropped out of the air like a rock, its engines failing. Crashing into a nearby cliff, the Stormraven broke apart into thousands of shrapnel and parts, most of its body disintegrating upon the impact.

The last Stormraven, despite knowing that it couldn't win the encounter against so many Vendetta gunships, did not flee. Instead, it banked sharply and dove right down at the helpless Imperial Knight.

Tanaka could see the blood-red Stormraven closing in, make out the details on the corrupted gunship. Spikes, blood and unclean symbols were splashed gratuitously over the once-noble machine, the markings of Khorne most evident among them. Tanaka could guess that the Stormraven was trying to ram itself into his Knight and go out in a blaze of glory.

Blood for the blood god, indeed.

"Corpses for the corpse god!" Tanaka yelled as he fought to make _Ryujin_ stand again, the servos whining as they pushed the wounded machine to its feet. He let loose a volley of missiles that blew chunks of the Stormraven off, but the doomed gunship kept on coming. There was no way he was going to make it out of the way in time…

One of the Vendetta gunships, perhaps realizing his predicament, dove down and _rammed_ right into the side of the Stormraven gunship, sending it spiraling off course and crashing into the baked dirt next to _Ryujin_. Tanaka watched in disbelief as the corrupted Stormraven blew up right beside him, but the shockwaves were easily weathered by the thick adamantine armor of the Knight. Wounded or not, without a direct hit from the Stormraven, the Knight was still a formidable suit of armor.

The Vendetta gunship that had saved him was too spinning uncontrollably as the pilot fought to regain control over his wounded craft. He managed to slow down the Vendetta's descent, but its flying days were over. With a sickening thud, the Vendetta crash-landed into the ground, gouging out a thick trail of soil as it skidded to a stop.

Breathing in relief, Tanaka leaned back against his Throne Mechanicum and closed his eyes, a silent whisper of thanks to the Emperor on his lips.

* * *

"Thank you for your help, Sir Tanaka."

Colonel Yamada was waiting for Tanaka after the small force had returned to base. Tanaka had left his damaged suit with his loyal Sacristan, a kindly old man by the name of Houzou. He trusted that Houzou would restore _Ryujin_ fully within three days. Such was Houzou's renowned skills that the Mechanicus actually sought to recruit him into their cult. Only his loyalty to House Yato and _Ryujin_ 's previous pilots had drove Houzou to decline, for his allegiance lay with the Knightly houses of Draconis III and not Cult Mechanicus.

"I should be the one thanking you."

"No, no. Your arrival changed the course of battle. If it weren't for you, my men and I would have been routed."

Tanaka laughed at that. "I doubt it. I saw how you were easily handling that traitor Knight with your tanks. I guess the Knights having the weakest armor at their rear is common knowledge now, huh?"

"It wouldn't have been possible if you weren't distracting the Knight, Sir Tanaka."

Yamada insisted on thanking Tanaka. Tanaka did not know if he was merely flattering him to curry favor with the nobility, but if that was indeed his motive then it was pointless. Even as a pilot, Tanaka was merely a low-ranking noble, one with the least influence.

"Admittedly it was harrowing at the end. I didn't think the traitor Astrates would have also stolen Stormraven gunships. We would be in a pinch if the Vendetta squadron didn't show up to save the day."

"Speaking of which, where is the pilot of the downed Vendetta? I need to thank him."

"In the medical bay," Yamada pointed it out for him. "The crew was wounded. We managed to salvage the Vendetta, and it'll be up and flying again within a week. The crew will recover in less time."

"I…see. I should go thank them personally. They saved my life."

"Yes, ramming a Stormraven out of the air…" Yamada stroked his greying mustache. "That was a very brave thing she did."

Tanaka nodded as he walked into the medical bay. It didn't take him long to locate the only two navy personnel there. The rest of the bay was populated with wounded infantry and guardsmen crewing the tanks, but navy personnel rarely get wounded. Even when their ships were shot down, they usually end up dead instead of injured. Such were the risks of piloting a flying craft.

Yamada might have mentioned it, but Tanaka was still surprised that one of the pilots was female. Her long black hair had been let down and she was lying on the bed, a few bandages over her shoulder and her leg. She glanced up irritably when he approached her.

"How can I help you…" she glanced at the black and gold uniform Tanaka was wearing, which was identical to the Draconian Imperial Guardsmen's uniforms. Understandably, it wasn't strange for her to mistake him as a Draconian officer. "Lieutenant?"

"I'm not an officer," Tanaka corrected her as he took his rank badge and showed it to her. Unlike officer and NCO ranks, this was one specifically designed for Knights. "I'm a Knight pilot. Tanaka Tomoyuki, of House Yato."

The shock on the pilot's face, and that of her copilot was evident. Straightening up, the male pilot spoke more formally on the two's behalf.

"I'm honored, Sir Tanaka. Can we help you with anything?"

"Ditch the formalities. I'm here to thank you both. Do you remember the Knight that was being targeted by the Stormraven you rammed out of the air? That was mine."

"Ah…that was her idea." The man sent the woman a dark look. "Ensign Urushibara always does suicidal things. I tried to stop her, but she's the pilot."

"I'm glad you failed…because I would have died if Ensign Urushibara didn't save me."

"Yes, of course." The man nodded fervently. "No offense, sir. That wasn't what I mean."

Tanaka shrugged it off. As a low-ranking noble, he wasn't hung up over formalities and hierarchies. "Anyway, I'm very grateful to you two. Thank you for saving my life."

"Stop it, raise your head." Urushibara sighed as Tanaka bowed. "I heard you save the ground-pounders' lives, but they're not going around thanking you. That's how it works in the military. You save their lives, I save your life, they save my life. There will be no end to things if everyone thanks each other over every little thing."

Tanaka raised an eyebrow at that. Evidently, his noble upbringing, while still low-classed when compared to other nobles, was still different from other middle-class and lower-class individuals. It didn't matter though. He had done what he had come to do, and his obligations were over.

"I hope to fight alongside you again." He saluted them and turned away. "I hope you get well and recover soon."

"Don't be so stiff," Urushibara called out after him. "And if you're really that grateful, you can thank us by buying us a couple of drinks. Your treat, of course."

Tanaka turned back to smile at her, his eyes twinkling. There was something about the pilot that was attractive. Not just her good looks, but something about her candid personality appealed to him. It was a breath of fresh air compared to the tiresome, overly formal dialogues he was forced to engage in with other nobles. He looked forward to talking to her again.

Nodding, he gave her a mischievous salute this time. "Sure. That's a promise, then."


	3. Chapter 3: Explorator

Chapter 3: Explorator

"She's beautiful."

Archmagos Omnid Trozac whispered as he pressed his augmetic fingers against the viewing glass. The spindly, metallic appendages lightly tapped against the void-hardened glass as augmetic eyes scanned the vast, limitless space outside with enhanced vision.

The view from the observation platform just above the shipyards of the Basilikon Astra was breathtaking, even to an unenhanced eye. The optic scanners and magnification devices in Trozac's mechanical eyes zoomed in to take in an unbelievable amount of details, which made the sight all the more outstanding. Every single detail, from the minute ridges and edifices on the cathedral constructions atop the ship, to the length of the broadside macro-cannons and specifications of lance turrets at the prow, was recorded and filed away in the noosphere wetware installed within his expanded brain.

"A real piece of work, isn't she?"

The tech-priest spun around to see an unaugmented human approaching him. From his blue uniform, he was clearly an imperial navy officer, and his rank bars marked him out as a commodore. Those conclusions could be reached merely on sight, but Trozac confirmed those hypotheses by pulling out information from the noosphere that floated invisibly around him, streams of data that flowed around in an alternate, magnificent universe where every individual was connected.

Commodore Jamie Jamieson. Participated in the Venarerre Wars, where he fought with distinction and earned command of his own small fleet. Assigned to the Adeptus Mechanicus upon return to the Draconis sector.

"Greetings, Commodore Jamieson," Trozac said, his voice a clicking, metallic hiss that resulted from years of continued experimental surgeries on his butchered throat that eventually installed filters in his trachea. "I look forward to working with you."

"As do I." If Jamieson was disturbed by Trozac's face - an inhuman mask of translucent pipes, silvery metal and large ocular augmetics, he showed no sign of it. "I must say, this is the first time I'm working for an Adeptus Mechanicus fleet. What did you call it? Explorer?"

"Explorator," Trozac corrected, his voice modulated to keep out any sign of annoyance and irritation at the officer's ignorance. Not that his current hissing, mechanical voice was capable of expressing such... _human_ emotions. "The Explorator fleets are charged with discovering new, undiscovered worlds to uncover their resources. Our primary mission is to locate lost, ancient technology and bring it back to Draconis IV...no, Mars, for the betterment of the Adeptus Mechanicus. And the Imperium of Man as a whole."

"Yes, I've heard of that." Jamieson nodded flippantly, a faint air of dismissal in his voice. "Finding archeotech and ancient weaponry that's powerful enough to turn the tide against the Great Enemy. Perhaps we'll find a way to break out of this deadlock, after all. A few years into the 42nd Millennium and we're no closer to ending Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade."

"You fail to understand the significance of our task, Commodore. The Quest of Knowledge is the main means to which Mankind will achieve their ultimate evolution. In order to prevail, we must recover lost technology by any means necessary. Knowledge is power."

Trozac smiled to himself thinly, his emaciated lips hidden behind the breathing equipment permanently implanted atop his face. _Knowledge is power_. That was the first credo of Mars and the Cult Mechanicus. And it had proven true on more occasions than Trozac could remember, even with his augmented mind.

"If you say so, Archmagos Trozac."

It was clear that Jamieson was reluctant to argue with the tech-priest over the issue, and wisely so. The priesthood of Mars had no qualms droning on forever on the meticulous niceties and rituals they performed in the name of the Omnissiah. Had he pushed the matter, the debate could have gone on for hours.

Not a very efficient use of time.

Instead, Trozac turned back to the massive battlecruiser that was slowly being nudged out of the gigantic shipyards of the Basilikon Astra. A Mars-pattern battlecruisier, the warship had been fitted with the trademark nova cannon of its dying class.

"I didn't think they made ships like that anymore," Jamieson muttered, his eyes swiveling to the impressive nova cannon mounted at the prow, which easily stretched to a fifth of the ship's entire length.

"Did you not captain a Dominator-class cruiser prior to your promotion, Commodore?"

"Indeed I have. I think that's why they put me in charge of _The Triumph of Deliverance_. I had previous experience of using a nova cannon."

Trozac nodded absently as he accessed records mentally. In the most recent battle, Jamieson had won recognition by blasting three shots of his Dominator cruiser, _The Avenger of Khuegan_ , nova cannon and crippling the treacherous battleship, _Terminus Est_ , forcing the Death Guard Chaos Champion Typhus to retreat. Consequently, Astra Militarum regiments were able to rout the remaining Death Guard forces on the planet Khugar, reinforced by orbital bombardments from the surviving cruisers. That single action had won Jamieson his promotion.

This man was certainly fit to command a battlecruiser sporting the fearsome nova cannon.

"But _The Triumph of Deliverance_ is a new Mars battlecruiser, isn't she? Didn't the Adeptus Mechanicus stop building warships of that class a long time ago?"

"The Basilikon Astra has phased out the Mars battlecruiser," Trozac acknowledged somewhat humbly. "The shipyards of Mars have stopped constructing them since 2,000 years ago, particularly because we received feedback from the Imperial Navy that they were...'undergunned'. It is a small fleet carrier and is usually used for long range patrol, but while it serves both roles adequately, it excels in neither."

"Then why..."

"The forge world of Draconis IV has deemed the Mars battlecruiser most appropriate for our explorator mission. It is equipped with impressive armaments, with macro-batteries, lance turrets and the fearsome nova cannon - your experience with it is the reason why you've been selected for command of this vessel, Commodore. This allows the ship to hold her own in case of a naval battle in the void."

"I thought you were supposed to find lost worlds and technologies, not fight naval battles."

"One can never be too careful when venturing off into deep space." Trozac allowed himself another unseen smile. "We often operate individually, by ourselves, so we are unable to call for support or reinforcements if we were to encounter an enemy fleet during one of our explorations. As such, we need to be armed appropriately."

"That makes sense."

"Yes...but the main reason for choosing the Mars class is its role as a fleet carrier. It has the capacity to hold a small fleet of attack craft. However, for the purpose of our mission, the fleet of attack craft has been replaced by fleets of transport ships, both for boarding purposes, as well as planet-landing purposes. I have enlisted the aid of an Astra Militarum regiment, after all."

"The Imperial Guard?" Jamieson raised an eyebrow. "I would think a tech-priest of your stature will bring along your own troops of Skitarii or something."

Trozac chuckled humorlessly. "I do have a single maniple of Skitarii, but they will not be enough. It is unfortunate, but I was unable to garner enough support from my fellow tech-priests. They do not share with me my vision of furthering the progress of mankind, and only busy themselves with making weapons of war. Weapons that we already have, those insufficient to turn the tide against Abaddon. Why do you think _The Triumph of Deliverance_ and the other ships in the explorator fleet are run by you and your crews? Normally an explorator fleet would be staffed by tech-priests and adepts of Cult Mechanicus. But I've used up all my connections and resources just to build _The Triumph of Deliverance_ alone. My fleet is understaffed."

"That's why you struck a deal with the Imperial Navy. Offer them the battlecruiser, and in return you're placed in autonomous command of a small fleet."

"That is correct."

Trozac sighed, his breathing sound hollow within his metal mask. He hated the politics that went around the priesthood, the scheming, the plotting, the creation and destruction of alliances. They were all Cult Mechanicus, all servants of the Omnissiah, pursuing the same goal in the Quest for Knowledge. Yet, as augmented and supposedly beyond fleshly desires as they were, they were prone to the same amount of petty bickering that plagued unaugmented humans.

"Well, I will leave the fleet in your care, Commodore. See to it that you integrate our crews well. Your men might not be used to how my adepts work."

"Understood, Archmagos."

"I'll proceed back to the surface of Draconis IV. I still have preparations to take care of."

Trozac then turned away, his mechadendrites scuttling beneath his Mars-red robe. The adepts loyal to him had been carefully selected to crew _The Triumph of Deliverance_ , but even then they only made up half of the crew. The Imperial Navy would have to make up for the shortfall.

It was simple enough. Now he had to return to the surface to muster a sizeable Skitarii maniple to carry out boarding operations and ground missions. He had the Imperial Guard regiment for that, but he would want at least a sufficiently large contingent of Skitarii warriors absolutely loyal to him. The Draconian Armored Defense Force was unquestionably loyal to the Emperor, but the same could not be said of their faith in the Omnissiah, despite the close ties between the agri-world of Draconis III and the forge world of Draconis IV.

No, he needed at least a small military force that answered only to him.

Jamieson watched the Archmagos depart, realizing that he had been holding his breath throughout the conversation with the Tech-priest. Talking to the cogboys had always unnerved him, their metallic and inhuman augmetics causing his flesh and blood to crawl and his unenhanced mind to creep out. Still, the Lord Admiral in Segmentum Command had ordered him to work with the Adeptus Mechanicus, and that was what he planned to do.

The top brass must have been extremely worried. A few years into the 42nd millennium, and the Imperium was still locked in a deadly stalemate with the Archenemy. Cadia refused to give way to the forces of Chaos, Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed holding out against overwhelming odds in the planet's last bastion. Entire worlds had fallen to Abaddon as he led his 13th Black Crusade against the Imperium, but the Imperial Navy had rallied and isolated Chaos fleets by taking command of the space lanes leading in and out of the system.

Chaos might have claimed the planets, but the Imperium continued to dominate the space surrounding them. However, the deadlock continued to grate at Segmentum Command's nerves, making them uneasy as the war dragged on with victory nowhere in sight. Getting desperate, they decided to dispatch a small battlegroup to help Archmagos Trozac in hopes of finding a weapon or ancient xenos archeotech to tilt the balance of the war in their favor. The Adeptus Mechanicus prioritized finding any Standard Template Constructs scattered throughout the galaxy during the Dark Age of Technology, and the Imperial Navy was hoping that these contained blueprints for weapons of immense power, or even the forbidden Men of Iron.

Times were so dire that they were willing to risk delving into the secrets of a weapon that so nearly annihilated humanity during the last centuries of the Dark Age of Technology.

Segmentum Command's orders were clear. Were the Adeptus Mechanicus to find any such STCs, Commodore Jamie Jamieson was to report back to them and persuade Draconis IV to replicate the weapons - at any cost. Lord Inquisitor Frost had approved of it, despite the outrage of many of his esteemed colleagues. For Frois Frost, there was no cost too great, and no sacrifice too unbearable as long as they could defeat the Archenemy once and for all. The fact was that Abaddon and his forces posed much more of a threat than the mythical Man of Iron ever would.

Nodding to himself, Jamieson followed the now departed figure of Archmagos Trozac, determined to make the Explorator fleet's mission a success.

* * *

It didn't take long for Archmagos Trozac to touch down on the red, windy surface of Draconis IV. Two Skitarii sentries stood stiffly at the bottom of the ramp as Trozac alighted from his ship, their galvanic rifles pointed downward. Other than the red, hooded robes, the Skitarii Rangers bore the signs of the Adeptus Mechanicus's military force, sporting similar ocular augmetics, filtration masks and metallic limbs. Like machines, they stood so still they could very well be mistaken for statues, had Trozac's in-built sensors not detect any signs of life flowing beneath their half-mechanical bodies.

The sentries sent a salute through a binary blurt in the noosphere, which Trozac acknowledged with a slight shift of data. Their bodies, however, did not even budge a millimeter, the duo standing as rock-still as they were ever since they were posted here. Not for the first time, Trozac marveled over the technology that allowed the Adeptus Mechanicus to create near-perfect soldiers free of emotion and fear, yet full of clarity and loyalty.

It was a good thing that he had succeeded a single Skitarii maniple that was unquestionably loyal to him. Now he just had to check on their preparations.

As Trozac had set down in the hangar, he was immediately greeted by the sight of his own giant transport ship, which his Skitarii forces were currently boarding. A company of Skitarii Vanguard formed the vanguard, marching obediently up the ramp in concert. They were followed by a company of Skitarii Rangers, whose legs had been replaced by relentless bionics.

Behind them crawled a column of Onager Dunecrawlers, the spidery tanks clanking up the raised platform with their mechanical legs, traversing difficult terrain with an astonishing ease that no Leman Russ tank could ever hope to achieve. In the shadows, two platoons of Sicarian assassins stealthily moved up the ship, the Infiltrators having shut off their neurostatic aura and the Ruststalkers' transonic weaponry switched off to preserve power.

Everything looked in place.

"Archmagos Trozac."

Turning, Trozac found his second-in-command, Magos Zephiris, striding toward him. Flanked by four massive Kastelan Robots, the Cybernetica Datasmith struck an imposing figure as he traveled through the hangar, weaving through servitors that hurriedly scuttled out of the way to avoid being trampled by the gigantic cybernetica constructs.

"Zephiris. How goes the preparations?"

"Very good, my lord. Everything is as scheduled. We will depart for _The Triumph of Deliverance_ before the hour."

Trozac nodded in satisfaction, but he sensed unease swirling within the datasmith. Zephiris had been his subordinate for a long time now, an exceptionally reliable and determined adept who remained calm and steadfast in battle. Yet, he was often reserved, reluctant to voice his thoughts to his master. Trozac valued Zephiris's input, for they often proved valuable during combat situations and dangerous expeditions, so he wished his subordinate would be more forthcoming.

"But...?"

"If I may, sir, is a single Skitarii maniple sufficient for this expedition?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Trozac sighed as unfamiliar human emotions of bitterness swelled within his cold, calculating heart. "However, a single Skitarii maniple is all I managed to requisition, and that is after petitioning the Fabricator General of Draconis IV for over a standard Draconian year. I fear that he will not be as...generous to supply more troops."

Zephiris's silence was deafening. The datasmith was as aware as Trozac the implications of Fabricator General Mezoa's reluctance to dispatch an Explorator fleet to the distant stars, not when he was already plagued by so many requests from allied forge worlds to help fight off the Despoiler's attempts to subjugate and subvert their forge worlds. The twelfth Black Crusade was exacting a heavy toll across the Imperium as many loyal Mechanicus forces united to drive back the Dark Mechanicum legions that had sided with Abaddon.

Even Draconis IV, far from the Eye of Terror and safe from Chaos invasions so far, was not exempt from contributing to the war effort. Elsewhere, Tyranid hive fleets had been spotted in nearby systems, and the Orks had been encroaching close by with massive raids. Sooner or later, Draconis IV would need every Skitarii warrior they could get.

However, not all was bad news.

"I am awaiting a response from _Legio Gojira_ ," Trozac told Zephiris. "Princeps Magan might be able to spare a single Warlord Titan and two or three Warhound Titans. With their firepower, and our Skitarii serving as Titan infantry, we should be able to overcome any threat that crops up during the expedition."

Zephiris didn't look convinced. "Princeps Magan has left it this late to give you an answer, sir? This does not bode well."

"I did succeed in negotiating the cooperation of an Imperial Guard regiment from Draconis III," Trozac assured him. "The 42nd Draconian Armored Defense Force regiment will be following us."

Zephiris looked a little relieved at that bit of fortune, and nodded.

"An entire regiment of the Astra Militarum? That is heartening to hear."

"Indeed it is. Now, we should hasten our preparations."

"Yes, my lord. I will lead my robots to the transport ship and strap them in. You probably need to select your retinue of battle-servitors."

Trozac released a binary blurt of thanks as Zephiris shepherded his Kastelan Robots toward the huge transport ship, their large legs falling heavily in concert. Intimidating heavy phosphor blasters pointed upward, mounted atop the robots' back, while their hands had also been fitted with the same weapons. The four of them could lay down a devastating line of phosphor weaponry that would illuminate the enemy's position and mark them out as targets for the Skitarii.

Trozac then turned to the humongous truck that pulled over to stop right outside the hangar. Gliding across the rockcrete, he paused at the side of the truck, whose doors slid open automatically to reveal an entire line of Kataphron Destroyers. The battle servitors had not yet been activated, so their heads and weapons were hanging limply, and the treadmills that served as their legs were inactive. At a burst of binary blurt from Trozac, the lights lit up in the Kataphron Destroyers' mechanical eyes and their machinery began whirring to life. At his silent command, the Kataphron Destroyers turned as one and began rolling down a ramp that was extending from the side of the truck.

Good. It seemed that everything was in order.

Half the Kataphron Destroyers were armed with power plasma culverins that lobbed destructive superheated blobs of plasma that could melt through the reinforced armor of a starship. The other half were equipped with devastating heavy grav-cannons that could crumple armor like a can and reduce the wearer within to nothing more than a crushed, bloody paste. With such firepower at his disposal, there was little Trozac had to fear. He could create more of these servitors from vats inside _The Triumph of Deliverance_ , but the drawback was that these mind-wiped battle servitors were not capable of initiative or thinking for themselves. He required the cold, calculative but sometimes creative tactics that Skitarii Alpha and Sicarian Princeps were capable of.

The Imperial Guard might surprise him with their own brand of strategies, designed to make up for their lack of augmentations. Trozac could not remember who he heard that from, but someone once told him that adversity and stifling restrictions brought out the creativity in humans to maximize the use of resources available and come up with unimaginable ideas.

His reverie was interrupted when his sensors notified him of an approaching presence.

"Fabricator Locum Volktov."

"Archmagos Trozac."

The red-robed Tech-priest stopped behind Trozac, lowering his heavily disfigured head and making his severe hunch even more pronounced.

"How may I help you, Fabricator Locum?"

"I apologize if I am disturbing you while you are so busy. I'm just seeing how you are doing."

"Not very well, thanks to you."

Despite his supposed eradication of emotions, Trozac felt anger flare up inside his mechanical heart. Slowly turning around and modulating his voice, his augmented eyes burned brightly in red as he fixed them coldly on the shorter Tech-priest.

"I recall you argued vehemently against my proposal for an Explorator expedition."

"I see it as a waste of resources, yes. Resources that could be better used to fight off traitors and corrupted machines."

"We are searching for technology that can be used to fight off those traitors and corrupted machines."

Volktov sighed as he hummed a binaric disapproval in the noosphere. "The probability of you discovering a previously unknown STC is a mere 35.3%. The probability of you stumbling upon a relevant STC that happens to be a weapon drops further to just 0.12%. Even the Fabricator General does not hold much hope in your...mission."

Trozac harrumphed, or at least came as close to a snort as he could in binary.

"The Fabricator General and you are only interested in preserving your power. Much of the priesthood here has forgotten the goal of Mars, of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Quest for Knowledge, is that not the very principle upon which our priesthood is founded upon? Knowledge is power, and we should not spare any expense in expanding our knowledge."

"Yes, that is all very well...during less turbulent times. But you know the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the Imperium at large, are facing an unprecedented crisis. Every day, new reports of a Chaos incursion flares up in another sector. Every day, pleas for help goes unanswered, for we are unable to marshal enough military forces to reinforce them in time. The Dark Mechanicum, our twisted brethren, are setting down on allied forge worlds as flies upon carrion, devouring our sacred technology and subverting them to their dark whims. Is this not cause for all of the Adeptus Mechanicus to unite and wipe out the enemy once and for all?"

Trozac turned away, disgusted. Despite Volktov's grand words, he had no doubt that he was merely cementing bonds with other forge worlds and helping them so that Draconis IV would benefit from favors in future. In fact, negotiations to help restore a broken forge world had already begun, with Draconis IV promised a large share of supplies, profits and technology. Ryza had already provided blueprints for their plasma weapons when Draconis IV generously sent over several maniples of Skitarii to aid the war against two Ork Waaaghs!

But he had no solid evidence, no case to bring up against Volktov and Mezoa. Regardless, despite their thinly veiled motives, the fact was that neither of them had done anything wrong. It was natural for one to desire benefits for contributing help to someone else's war. The galaxy wasn't so magnanimous to allow for selfless altruism.

"I will find a weapon-type STC that will turn the tide against the Despoiler's Black Crusade. By any means necessary...even if it is forbidden technology. Lord Inquisitor Frost has approved of it."

"I wish you luck...but we can spare no more forces than this." Fabricator Locum Volktov looked at the departing Skitarii and battle servitors loading up the transport ship. "You are a fool, Trozac. Brave, perhaps, but still a brave fool."

"And you are a coward, Volktov. Clever, perhaps, but still a clever coward."

"I shall take that as a compliment." Volktov turned away. Trozac glanced at him dismissively, and then switched his gaze to the distance. Stretch his augury transmitters, he tried to reach for _Legio Gojira_. Princeps Magan was leaving it awfully late to...

As if he detected Trozac's attempts to communicate with the revered Titan Legion, Volktov twisted his head back to look at the Archmagos Explorator, a faint hint of mockery present in his binaric blurts.

"Oh...if you're expecting Princeps Magan to send you a couple of Titans, you will be disappointed. _Legio Gojira_ will not walk with your fleet. The good Princeps has been stretched thin organizing his forces to confront a host of gargants and stompas in the Viridian Sector. He will need every Titan he has to crush the greenskin horde. I apologize, I was supposed to deliver that message on his behalf."

Trozac clenched his metallic fingers as he watched the scheming Fabricator Locum glide off. No doubt Princeps Magan was under pressure from Volktov to forge new alliances with other forge worlds to continue their attempts to build up good relationships and a Mechanicus network. All so Draconis IV could benefit when the wars were over.

"My lord, is anything the matter?"

From a distance, Zephiris had stopped atop the ramp of the transport ship, his Kastelan Robots safely herded into the ship. He had detected the brief exchange between the Archmagos Explorator and Fabricator Locum, and had reason to be concerned. Breathing deeply into his augmented lungs, Trozac fought to calm himself down.

" _Legio Gojira_ has declined to help us."

"I see. What should we do?"

"The expedition continues. I will just need to seek help from other allies."

As Trozac released that binary blurt, he tilted his head to look up at the reddened sky of Draconis IV, catching sight of the beautiful blue and green world of Draconis III hovering above. The enhancements in his brain whirling, he contemplated for a moment. Yes...he had ties with the Knightly Houses in Draconis III, having once helped with repairs and production of their knightly suits as a lowly adept before being promoted to a Magos of the Explorator division. A long time, but the Knightly Houses of Draconis III were honorable and always remembered their debts.

"If the Titan Legions will not walk with us, then I shall get the next best thing." Trozac lowered his head determinedly. "It is time to pay House Yato a visit."


	4. Chapter 4: Banquet of Victory

Chapter 4: Banquet of Victory

No matter how many of them he attended, Tanaka just couldn't get used to the lavish extravagance of banquets.

He knew, of course, that it was a tradition for Knightly houses to hold banquets before and after battles, the Knights marching to war in full fanfare. The blaring of trumpets and the cheering of citizenry as the machines stride from their stronghold's gates echoed in his ears, a persistent memory that refused to shake off despite Tanaka's best efforts. Most likely that was due to the excessive volume that had left a permanent ringing in his ears.

The welcome parade was, if possible, a lot more excessive, particularly if the Knights returned in victory. After celebrating the outcome with an obligatory parade through the stronghold and back into the cavernous hangars where the Sacristans tirelessly tended to the damaged machines, the pilots were then invited to a luxurious banquet thrown by the Shogun - Draconis III's counterpart to the High King that ruled over most other Knightly worlds.

Tanaka was well aware that this banquet was partially dedicated to him, as he had played a huge role in the liberation of Ishtar from the forces of Chaos. There were already tales spun from his victory of the Chaos Knight spreading across excited nobles and idolizing commoners alike, mostly embellished with exaggerations or fanciful maneuvers that were impractical in real combat. While the banquet was officially organized to honor all the Knights who played a role in saving Ishtar, Tanaka had taken the spotlight because he was the only one who had engaged a Chaos Knight in a duel.

And that was a very big deal, particularly to the pilots of House Yato. To have survived and emerged the winner in a clash between Knights was an honor few could claim. The towering, armored behemoths that they piloted was a force so formidable in the battlefield that there was a clear lack of what Knightly Houses deemed "worthy" opponents. As the Knightly houses of Draconis III were regularly dispatched to engage Traitor legions and retaliate against invading xenos, their staggering kill counts of conventional creatures and vehicles were considered the norm.

Instead, the slaying of a super-heavy or Gargantuan opponent was the event everyone remembered. For the Imperial Knights who dominated the battlefields with few enemies that could threaten their thick adamantine armor and impenetrable ion shields, only opponents such as Chaos Knights or similarly sized monstrosities possessing immeasurable power were considered worthy enough for proving a pilot's worth.

And it was that worth that was causing Tanaka quite the predicament now.

"My, my, Sir Tanaka! I have heard of your glorious combat!"

A gaggle of ladies dressed in ridiculously colorful clothing, draped with ornaments, had surrounded him, gushing over his recent achievement. Their hair were stylishly tied and curled in overly expressive displays that must have taken the most expensive groomers hours to style, and their exotic dresses were made from luxurious fabric and material that only the wealthy could afford. They were batting their eyelids in a futile attempt to impress him, and to be honest, their praises and flattery sounded more annoying than pleasing.

Still, they were nobles that belonged to one of the three major Knight houses in Draconis III, and Tanaka would do well not to antagonize them. Forcing a smile, he swallowed his discomfort and shook his head.

"No, not at all. I was merely lucky. The opponent was a skilled one."

"Nonsense! There is no enemy in the universe that the Emperor's selected Knights cannot overcome!"

The girl sounded proud of herself for expressing such platitudes in the Emperor's name, but Tanaka inwardly scoffed at her naivety. Delusions of grandeur brought about by a lack of experience in real war that were amplified by glorified holo-vids of heroes and Knights, no doubt. In the battlefield, that kind of complacency would get a pilot killed.

Tanaka took a cup of juice from a waiter who passed by, sipping it to moisten his dry throat. The whole situation was making him feel uneasy, especially since he was never the center of attention before. In fact, Tanaka hardly had a chance to interact with ladies of the nobility. This was the first time that he had been approached by nobles of the opposite gender.

And he didn't like it one bit at all. These female nobles were completely different from the honest, brash and blunt women he was used to dealing with during his attachment to the Astra Militarum regiments or commoners. Those ladies would tell him straight up what they wanted and move on with their businesses. Not so with noble ladies. The daughters and wives of pilots often played subtle games with their words and mannerisms, concealing sinister motives as they sought to build a network of alliances to exploit each other.

Tanaka wanted no part in that world. He was much more familiar with direct, open warfare, where he could see the enemy, and the goal was simple - the utter annihilation of enemy forces. He didn't have to behave squeamishly and tiptoe around conversations with the enemy. Much like the Chaos Knight he had bested, their only response to dialogue was a silent, deadly charge or a bestial roar of challenge (particularly from Orks). All the better - it kept things simple.

"That may be so, but the Emperor protects those who take precautions and are well-prepared." Tanaka paused as he watched the girl's expression turned into dismay, drawing a bit of satisfaction from it. As a couple of single Knights walked past, eager to join in, Tanaka saw a chance to escape. "Kaneda, Godo, these lovely ladies would like to have a word with you."

"Of course, of course!" The two Knights were only too eager for an opportunity to mingle with beautiful girls of noble heritage.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Tanaka bowed deferentially to the girls as he backed away, much to their displeasure. "These gentlemen will entertain you while I speak to a friend."

"Sure! I'll be happy to accompany these lovely ladies!"

As Kaneda and Godo began sharing tales of their own exploits, with the former bragging about how his machine crushed a Chaos Hellbrute in close combat (or literally, by stomping on the corrupted construct), Tanaka made his getaway. As he disappeared into the flow of the crowd, dodging bright-eyed noble girls who wanted to make his acquaintance and using his fellow pilots as cover, he noticed the Daimyo, high-ranking pilots of Houses Yato, Uesugi and Takeda taking center stage.

A good number of seasoned, veteran Knights were parading around the main table of the grand hall, boasting to each other about their glorious exploits. The combat grew increasingly exaggerated with each subsequent tale as each Daimyo sought to one-up the other. The equivalent of Barons in most other Knightly worlds, the Daimyo were each allocated their own domain by the ruling Shogun, who allowed them autonomous rule over their respective fiefs. In return, these Daimyo pledge their loyalty to the Shogun - or in theory anyway, since many of them retained their allegiances to their birth house - and answered his call to arms every time the Imperium called upon Draconis III for aid. The ruling Shogun had been from House Yato for generations now, ever since a great civil war that had torn the world apart before the Great Crusade brought it back to the fold.

As the experienced Knights boasted about their battles, their consorts silently sat beside them in patient indulgence. Though they did not share the same intense experiences of combat and the dizzying heights of glory that their husbands did, the consorts were no less formidable. Theirs were a different battlefield, a political landscape of cunning, schemes and alliances woven in a complicated web that connected each Knight to another. The Knights might strike an intimidating figure during times of war, but behind the scenes it was their consorts who wielded the power and influence that preserved the great houses' dominance in Draconis III, and the Imperium.

The female nobles, particularly the married ones, were not persons to be trifled with. If the pilots were said to represent the strength and might of the Knightly houses, then the consorts were the hidden intelligence and cunning that lay in wait in the shadows, waiting for the correct time to strike. Both halves combined brought about a whole Knightly house that was more than the sum of its parts. The men might do all the fighting, but it was the women who were chiefly responsible for the survival of their houses, as well as lineages.

Tanaka felt sick.

As he made his way through the sea of people chatting and flattering each other, several boisterously toasting exploits and achievements, he caught sight of familiar figures dressed in the black and gold military uniform of the Draconis Armored Defense Force. A collective of officers from the Astra Militarum regiment had gathered near a table, isolated from the pompous nobles that dominated the space of the grand hall.

Tanaka recognized Colonel Ikeda's buff figure and hurried over to him, waving. Ikeda also saw Tanaka and returned his greeting with a smile.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

"It is good to see you again, Colonel Ikeda."

"I should say the same. What does the hero of the hour need with us?"

Tanaka laughed. "Just your company is fine."

Ikeda lifted a cup and toasted it in Tanaka's direction. Taking the cue, Tanaka also raised his cup of juice before drinking it.

"The food here is good. I'm glad they invited us here."

Tanaka caught a whiff of sarcasm in the colonel's tone. The officers of Astra Militarum, particularly Draconis III's native Imperial Guard regiment the Draconian Armored Defense Force, were usually invited to the banquets as a formality. However, they were often nothing more than a red herring, left to their own devices as the nobles preferred to mingle among their own kind more than interact with commoners.

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes. You should try the roasted squig. They're quite delicious." Ikeda helped himself to a large serving of meat on his plate, smiling as he savored the flavor. This time he was sincere in enjoying his meal. "Or if you're not fond of meat, I would recommend the squiggles. I can't say I like vegetables, but those green mushrooms are absolutely a must-try."

"Thank you for the recommendation." Tanaka showed his appreciation as he piled Ikeda's suggested items onto his plate. Trying them, he found that the good colonel was right - they were delicious. "How fare your regiment? I heard they took heavy losses in the battle for Ishtar."

Ikeda grimaced as he bit into a squig's fleshy thigh, his teeth sinking into the succulent meat.

"Better than I expected. We lost a few tanks, but they're easily replaced thanks to the forge world of Draconis IV churning out vehicles like servitors. It's a good thing we didn't lose _The Emperor's Wrath_ \- a Stormsword superheavy tank would be much harder to replace."

"I see." Tanaka didn't know what else to say. It was true that superheavy tanks took a lot more resources and time to build, even more so than Imperial Knights. "That's good then."

"Yes, I suppose it is." Ikeda sighed as he leaned against the table, settling his plate down tiredly. "On the other hand, the crews are more difficult to replace. I have gotten fresh recruits to cover the losses after our unit returned to Draconis III, and our roster is back up to full strength again. However, I am uncertain if these fresh recruits will be up to the task. They lack the experience and perhaps mental fortitude of the crews I lost. It takes a few battles before they will be hardened...and most recruits die within the first few hours of their deployment, and the cycle of replenishing my ranks will repeat itself. The loss of experienced crews is huge blow."

Tanaka nodded. "Your men fought well in Ishtar. They will be remembered."

Ikeda was taken aback for a moment, prompting Tanaka to stare at him curiously. Shrugging, the experienced man explained candidly.

"I didn't think a noble would be concerned with the lives of us commoners. You know, what with being above the common man and all that..."

"I'm a low-ranked Knight," Tanaka responded humorlessly. Ikeda grinned.

"A dark knight."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, just a holo-vid I watched some time ago."

The two men fell to silence and watched the nobles growing ever more raucous as they downed more alcohol and food. Kaneda and Godo, who the girls had run away from, raised their beer jugs and gestured for Tanaka to join them. Tanaka shook his head wearily, not at all looking forward to their company. Fortunately, he was saved when the doors to the grand hall flung open, revealing an unexpected visitor.

The tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus were not an uncommon sight, particularly given the proximity of the forge world Draconis IV to Draconis III. Through the Sacristans, the Knightly houses of Draconis III had strong ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus for the manufacture, repair and maintenance of their suits, a trend common throughout all knightly houses in the Imperium. In return for their services, an Archmagos could sometimes demand that the Knightly houses fulfill their military obligations to them.

Might this not be why this particular tech-priest was here?

Tanaka didn't recognize the red-robed tech-priest who seemed to glide across the grand hall. Though the flowing, rust-red robe concealed most of his body, mechadendrites protruded from underneath his long sleeves, eerie metallic gadgets that clicked with each movement. A pair of servo-skulls floated around the tech-priest, who despite his gliding motion, seemed to limp on the cog-shaped power axe he favored as a weapon. As he glanced in Tanaka's direction, the latter saw that the former's face had been entirely replaced by a mechanical mask, the ocular goggles functioning in place of his eyes. Breathing tubes seemed to feed directly underneath the red collar, filtering out impurities in the air.

Most of the nobles halted their conversations to watch the eccentric figure lumber through their midst, more out of curiosity than horror at his deformed figure. Having interacted with tech-priests on a regular basis, the Knight pilots were more than familiar with the sort of surgical augmentations the priesthood of Cult Mechanicus performed on themselves.

The tech-priest wasted no time, heading straight for Shogun Yato. The de facto ruler of Draconis III was surrounded by his closest and most loyal Daimyo, who bristled at the tech-priest's breach of etiquette, but Yato himself seemed more amused than offended. Smiling, he gestured for the Daimyo to stand down and invited the tech-priest for a drink. The tech-priest declined, pointing to his horrific mask, earning a chuckle.

"Well, this is a rare sight, Archmagos Trozac. To what do we owe the honor of your presence?"

"I am here to make a request," Archmagos Trozac responded, his cold mechanical voice a rasp. Yato nodded and gestured for a butler to bring the unexpected visitor to a room. Whispering to his outraged Daimyo and their horrified consorts, he calmed them down and told them to stand down. Picking a couple of his closest friends, he led them into the room to carry out the discussion with the archmagos.

"Archmagos Prozac?" Tanaka repeated, scrunching his face in puzzlement. Ikeda burst out laughing at that.

"No, it's Archmagos Trozac. Perhaps you can approach him for hearing augmetics."

"I would much rather avoid that, thank you very much."

Tanaka took a deep breath as he glanced at the room where Shogun Yato and Trozac had disappeared inside. Seeing his curiosity, Ikeda chuckled.

"Archmagos Trozac is an Explorator. Currently he is assembling a small Explorator fleet to reclaim a STC that's rumored to be at the edge of the Genova System."

"Heh..." Tanaka turned back to Ikeda. "Do you know him?"

"How could I not? Archmagos Trozac has requisitioned the 42nd Draconian ADF to help him in his journey. Our tanks will be loaded into the Mars Battlecruiser, _The Triumph of Deliverance_ , tomorrow. He's in effect our commanding officer."

Tanaka nodded sympathetically at the colonel's bitter tone. The seasoned soldier evidently would prefer to be elsewhere in the galaxy, razing the forces of Chaos and driving back the encroaching armies of xenos scum. A search and retrieval mission where the probability of encountering enemies was low wouldn't sit well with him. A whole regiment of tanks being shipped off to some obscure end of the galaxy was a complete waste of firepower - immense firepower that could turn the tide of any war where no Titans were involved.

"But the Lord General has promised to cooperate, so we don't have a choice. Well, it can't be all bad." Ikeda flexed his muscles as he stretched his arms. "Join the Imperial Guard. See the galaxy. Meet xenos scum. Kill xenos scum."

"Sounds appealing to me. Death to all the xenos!"

However, Ikeda didn't seem to agree with Tanaka. Rather, his eyes bulged and he took a step back. Perplexed, Tanaka turned around, only to see Shogun Yato's consort sashay toward them in her exquisite dress.

"That is so very marvelous and inspiring, Colonel," Lady Yato gushed, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "I am so moved that you are encouraging our boy, Sir Tomoyuki here. As grateful as I am, however, do you mind if I borrow him for a moment?"

"O...of course not, my lady." Colonel Ikeda swallowed nervously as he bowed his head deferentially and backed away, looking like he wanted to disappear. Tanaka was aghast to see that even such a high-ranked officer of the Astra Militarum was no match for the Shogun's consort. "He's all yours."

"Thank you very much." Lady Yato smiled sweetly at him as he quickly departed the scene. Once he was out of earshot, along with the other Astra Militarum officers, her expression twitched a little, turning into a slightly disapproving one. "Sir Tomoyuki, you would do well not to associate yourself with such vulgar soldiers."

"They're not vulgar," Tanaka responded instantly, and regretted it when he saw the flash in Lady Yato's eyes. "They're...honest and candid, and I appreciate that a lot in combat."

"Yes, of course they are worthy allies who have your back. I understand that much. But there's a time and place for everything...and if you must socialize with them, then at least do so in the absence of other nobles."

Tanaka wondered why. It wasn't as if the other nobles cared what he did. Most likely it had something to do with keeping up the image of a noble being above everyone else.

"As a noble who has achieved a great victory over a traitor, you are now placed firmly in the spotlight. You need to behave as befitting your reputation." Lady Yato shook her head, and smiled gently. "But enough about that. I'm here to ask you about your choice."

"My...choice?" Tanaka stared blankly at Lady Yato, who heaved a sigh of disappointment.

"Yes, your choice, my dear boy. Haven't you decided on the consort you wish to marry?"

"No, that's..."

"My dear boy, you mustn't flounder about the issue indecisively. Marriage is a very important matter, not just to you and your family, but to House Yato."

Tanaka knew. The knightly houses were often full of political marriages, the wedding of two individuals to strengthen alliances between major families within the house, and bind the Knight's loyalty tighter to the Shogun. After all, it would be more difficult to betray the Shogun if one's consort was related to the Shogun by blood. In addition, the consort often would have schemes of her own, and would keep a tight leash on the Knight to manage their domestic affairs.

Women, despite not piloting the fearsome, formidable Knight suits their husbands owned, could often be a lot more terrifying than even the deadliest xenos.

"I would recommend my niece, Tomoyo. Or perhaps you would be more interested in Erika, of the Shimizu family. Both girls are highly competent and intelligent."

"That's..."

"Think about it, and discuss it with your parents. Perhaps they would want to forge a connection with the Shimizu family, or deepen your ties to the shogunate. If it's the latter, I will be very happy."

 _But I won't be happy at all_ , Tanaka thought bitterly Scratching his head, he sought for an appropriate response, but for some reason Ensign Urushibara came to his head. The confident, dark-haired woman with a snarky sense of humor seemed more appealing than complete strangers who he had never met before.

Wondering if it was worth a try, he cleared his throat as he stammered.

"I...I was thinking of marrying a female officer from the Astra Militarum..."

"Certainly not," Lady Yato cut him off, looking absolutely horrified. "You're a noble. You cannot lower yourself to marry a woman from a lower class. Not to mention, your position and achievement marks you as a potential Daimyo. You'll be expected to marry into a strong family so as to cement our alliances."

So in the end it was all about House Yato and its Emperor-damned alliances and politics. Tanaka wanted no part of it at all, but he was helpless before the scheming machinations of the consorts and their shadowy web of intrigue.

"I'm already generous in giving you two options," Lady Yato continued sternly. "Normally, the marriage would have already been decided on and arranged before you even get to know about it."

That seemed tyrannical rather than generous, especially given how none of the noble girls viewed Tanaka as a potential marriage partner before. It seemed that besting the Chaos Knight had caused his stock to rise, and every major player wanted to secure his loyalties before he fell into the wrong hands. It was no wonder Lady Yato had moved this quickly after his return to arrange a partnership between her niece or the closely allied Shimizu family.

 _They wouldn't have bothered and would continue leaving me alone if I never encountered that Chaos Knight_ , Tanaka thought grumpily. It wasn't that he regretted slaying the Chaos Knight now, but he had vastly underestimated the reaches of the consorts. Was there no way out of this predicament?

Seeing Tanaka waver helplessly, Lady Yato smiled in undisguised glee. She was most likely over sixty, but her pale, seemingly youthful face had received the best juvenat treatments House Yato could afford to maintain her beauty. After all, she was literally the face of House Yato.

"I'll give you time to think about it."

Before Tanaka could respond, the doors to the room where Shogun Yato was conducting his meeting with Archmagos Trozac were flung open.

"Archmagos, I cannot allow you to do this," Yato's voice was tense as he followed behind the gliding tech-priest. The hooded figure inclined his inhuman head toward the annoyed Shogun.

"You leave me no choice."

"I have little choice in the matter as well. Your Fabricator Locum is the one who requested for additional military forces. My Knightly house is stretched thin as it is. I am unable to afford to lend you even a single contingent of Knights."

"Just one would do," Trozac replied, his voice rasping over the grand hall. "A volunteer."

Yato smirked as he allowed Trozac to take the center stage. "You can try and appeal, but I fear not one Knight here is sane enough to volunteer his services."

"Nonetheless, I must try." Trozac turned to face the stunned audience, amplifying his audio emitters so that everyone could hear him. "I am Archmagos Explorator Omnid Trozac, and I am assembling a fleet to reclaim lost STCs so that we may use them in the fight against the Great Enemy. As such, I require the assistance of a Knight."

A murmur rose among the assembled Knights as they regarded Trozac's slumped figure with disdain. Undeterred, Trozac continued.

"I implore to you, any one of you, to volunteer your services. The rewards, I promise you, will be great. Your machine will be fitted with unique enhancements and receive special treatment from my adepts."

"What of glory?" One of the Knights yelled from the floor. "Will there be worthy enemies for us to slay? Tales that we can one day weave into legends? And I'm not just talking about a footnote as one of the founders of a stupid STC. I mean combat."

Trozac hesitated for a moment, which proved to be his undoing. "There is a high probability of combat, yes..."

"But will we fight Gargants? Tyranid Hierophants? Eldar Wraithknights?"

"I cannot guarantee that as we will strive to avoid conflict with enemies possessing such immense might..."

"Then no deal!"

As the Knight shouted that, the others hollered their agreement. Trozac's ocular implants whirred as he regarded the audience, clearly miffed at what he perceived as an affront to logic. After all, the mission was to recover STC, not risk the entire force in engaging with terrifying enemies on a massive scale.

"If the rewards are insufficient, we can negotiate..."

"You don't get it, Archmagos." Yato was smiling coldly, triumph written all over his face. "We Knights are honorable men. We hold no interest in material reward. Every single one of us here aims only for glory...to etch our name in legends that will pass down for generations."

While Trozac wheeled from his unexpected obstacle, Tanaka was observing the whole thing silently, the cogs in his mind turning slowly as he saw an opportunity to escape. Waiting for the jeers and taunts to die down a little, he took a deep breath and raised his hand.

"I'll do it. I volunteer to participate in this Explorator mission."

Silence filled the air as every person in the grand hall turned their eyes to him. Shogun Yato rounded on him, livid.

"Absolutely not. Sir Tanaka, your steed will be required for a military operation in Gandor. As long as your allegiance lies with House Yato, I will not allow you to run off wherever you please."

"Then what if I renounce my allegiance to House Yato?"

There was a collective intake of breaths when Tanaka made that declaration. Stepping to the front and facing everyone determinedly, Tanaka knew there was no turning back.

"I forsake my place in House Yato. From this day on, I will become a Freeblade, with no ties to any of the Knightly houses."

"Y...you can't do this!" another noble shouted. "What are you trying to do?!"

As more voices added to the cacophony of rage, Shogun Yato raised his hand to forestall the protests, his dark eyes boring intensely into the young man.

"Can you tell us why you have been driven to undertake such a drastic action? You do know the consequences of being a Freeblade, do you not? What will happen to your family? Your parents? And why would you go so far as to sacrifice the privileges and honor of being in House Yato?"

Tanaka had already formulated an excuse in his mind, one that could save his family's honor and protect them from the repercussions of his rash decision. If he could at least make his decision seem honorable, he might be able to spare them the shame.

"I owe my life to the Emperor's Spear Aerial Company from the 42nd Draconian Armored Defense Force. A Vendetta squadron from that company saved me from destruction at the hands of an enemy gunship. As such, I am honor-bound to serve and protect them on their journey with the venerable Archmagos."

I glanced at Colonel Ikeda for help, and after a moment's hesitation, he nodded reluctantly.

"What Sir Tanaka says is true. And the 42nd ADF has been assigned to the Explorator fleet."

Yato suddenly looked very weary as he studied me, but he finally nodded.

"Very well then. I hope you achieve more glory on your travels...and look forward to the day when you return to House Yato."

"I thank my liege for his benevolence."

"Let's not waste any time then." Despite the constant, cold tone of his mechanical voice, Trozac was clearly delighted. Sliding over to me eagerly, he tilted his head gratefully, his mechadendrites twitching in excitment. "I promise you, you will be greatly rewarded for your part in my mission. You will not regret this."

 _I'm already starting to regret my decision a little..._ Tanaka thought.

"Let us be off then," the archmagos said as he turned away. "We have a lot of preparation to do before the fleet departs."


	5. Chapter 5: Battlefleet Explorator

Chapter 5: Battlefleet Explorator

"Enemy ships incoming!"

No sooner had the Explorator fleet just exited the horrifying realm of the Warp when the pict-screens in the bridge lit up with horrifying abandon, displaying two red icons charging recklessly toward the freshly emerged battle group.

"Two Iconoclast destroyers, approaching from starboard."

Archmagos Trozac lay back in his observer's platform as he listened to the frantic messages and exchanges between the human and Mechanicus crew in the bridge. Having relinquished all naval command to the captain of this ship, Commodore Jamieson, he said nothing to interfere with the way the veteran navy commander handled his ship's combat.

"Prepare all broadside cannons. Fire the macro-cannons when within range."

At Jamieson's orders, the Mars battlecruiser whirled about, its broadside slanting to face the incoming Iconoclast destroyers. The _Triumph of Deliverance_ bellowed, its macro-battery spitting at the quick, sleek ships of Chaos and causing the ship to shudder beneath the crew's feet. The other ships in the Explorator fleet followed the flagship's example, bringing their prow weaponry to bear. The Firestorm frigates that functioned as escorts zoomed ahead with their superior speed, their prow lances arcing toward the Iconoclast destroyers in an attempt to intercept them.

The void shields covering the Chaos ships rippled, and then broke apart as dozens of devastating projectiles hammered into them. Their hulls creaked and groaned silently in the void, unable to endure the relentless barrage as the macro rounds tore the ships apart from the inside. The first Iconoclast disintegrated in a violent burst of plasma as the engines grew critical, the explosion swallowing the already wounded second and sending it spiraling out of control. Unable to endure the invisible shockwaves, the remaining Iconoclast destroyer simply broke apart into floating debris.

It was clear that whatever reasons the Chaos ships were here for, they were certainly not expecting the Mechanicus fleet to emerge from the Warp.

"Targets eliminated," the weapons officer confirmed the kills from his station. Jamieson nodded in acknowledgement, and then turned to Trozac in concern.

"This isn't good," he said worriedly. "Chaos destroyers do not operate out in deep space alone. They are most certainly a part of a larger fleet, sent ahead of the rest of the ships to scout this area. If that's the case, the enemy must know of our presence right now."

Trozac inclined his mechanical head in a stiff nod as he consulted the ship's sensors and ran through the results through his logic engines. "I agree with your assessment, Commodore. The probability of there being a Chaos fleet in this space is 92.3%."

"Sir, the radar is picking up multiple hostile signals!"

On the gigantic pict-screen in the center, Jamieson could see red blobs converging on the Mechanicus fleet's location, their silhouettes an angry red blur of violent energy.

"We should try to evade them, Commodore," Trozac suggested. "After all, our mission is to recover archeotech and STCs, not to best a Chaos fleet in the void. We are ill-prepared for a direct naval confrontation."

"I'm thinking the same thing," Jamieson agreed as he checked on the fleet.

Along with the Mars battle cruiser _The Triumph of Deliverance_ , there was a second Overlord battlecruiser and 3 cruisers in the fleet. Escorting the larger ships were a collective of 12 Firestorm frigates and 6 Cobra destroyers, a formidable force in most scenarios. However, while the Explorator fleet had been assembled to fight off Eldar Corsairs and Ork pirates, as well as small pockets of Chaos ships, a complete naval engagement against a full Chaos fleet would prove unfavorable. While the Explorator ships possessed a devastating array of weapons, most of the crews were green, and the Mechanicus and Imperial Navy crewmen had not yet gotten used to working with each other.

A colossal naval battle of this scale might be too early for them.

However, before Jamieson could give the order to retreat, the Astropath wailed, clutching his head as the hideous melody played from his mouth.

"What is it?" The commodore demanded, swiveling in his seat to stare at the whimpering Astropath. The psyker's presence on the bridge had already unnerved his crew, and his ghastly choir was not helping matters.

"Distress signal. I have...received a distress signal."

The Astropath was mumbling incoherently under his breath. Jamieson glared at him.

"What sort of..."

"Commander!" Kendall, the petty officer manning the radar and ship sensors, spoke up urgently. "Our radar detects friendly imperial ships in the system. They are engaging the Chaos fleet right now!"

"Distress signal..." Argevion, the astropath, continued to murmur in his creepy voice. "The battleship _The Hammer of Marinas_ is requesting for help. They are taking a beating from the Great Enemy, and unable to hold out for much longer...ah!" He threw up his hands in a low, rattling cry. "A few more of our brothers have vanished into the void!"

"Damn it..." Jamieson clenched his fists as he glared at the auspex screen in front of him. The blue lights indicating friendly imperial forces were winking out as the angry tide of red rushed forward to swallow them. If he didn't intervene, the Imperial Navy in this system would be annihilated.

"Let us help them, Commodore."

"What?"

Jamieson stared at Archmagos Trozac, unable to believe what he was hearing. The tech-priest merely inclined back in his throne, his inhuman eyes boring into the commodore's.

"I believe we should help the Imperial fleet, Commodore Jamieson. Do you not agree?"

"No, of course I agree...it's just that I didn't expect you to...I mean, I thought you would make a more emotionless decision."

"It is quite logical if you think about it," Trozac countered flatly, his voice streaming mechanically over the bridge. "The Imperial Navy is our allies. Therefore it is our duty to help them." Jamieson could almost detect a hint of a smile from the otherwise unmoving mask of black metal. "If I were in their position, I would also expect aid from my allies when I request for reinforcements. Isn't that only natural?"

"Of course, Archmagos." Jamieson couldn't hide his relief from his voice. Nodding to his communications officer, he picked up the vox to broadcast his orders to the fleet. "All ships. We are picking up a request for help from a nearby Imperial fleet who is under attack from Chaos forces. We are to aid them. All ships, adopt formation alpha four and converge upon the Great Enemy. The Emperor protects! Today, we shall scour the sector of traitors and perform our duty for the Emperor!"

"Aye, aye!" Captain Baleren, commander of the Overlord battlecruiser _The Divine Faith_ , shouted, his voice crackling over the vox. "Let us destroy these traitors who have turned from the light of the Emperor!"

As the ships got into position, the two battlecruisers remaining in the center to form the core of the battlefleet, the three cruisers circled them. The Dominator cruiser, _The Avenger of Khuegan_ , the Tyrant cruiser, _The Avenger of Retaliation_ and the Lunar cruiser, _The Guardian of Faith_ , armed their weapons as they swam alongside their larger brethren. All around them, the smaller Firestorm frigates and Cobra destroyers swarmed like angry wasps, ready to deliver their deadly stings to the enemy.

"I am surprised, though, Archmagos," Jamieson admitted as the large ships shifted across the void to get into formation. "I thought you would have prioritized the mission of recovering archeotech."

"Such things can still be easier achieved if we scour the sector of enemies. It would be more efficient to search without such a massive threat hanging over our heads in orbit. Besides..." the mechanical voice of Trozac carried a trace of humor. "It'll be beneficial for us if we have the Imperial Navy owe us a favor."

Jamieson couldn't help but shudder. As expected, these tech-priests were logical, practical and efficient to the very end. Shoving those thoughts to the back of his head, he picked up his vox.

"All ships, ready your prow weapons. Fire torpedoes."

As the Explorator fleet moved in concert, heading straight for the largest cluster of Chaos ships that had bundled together to combine their fearsome firepower on the dwindling Imperial ships, torpedoes launched from their prows. The torpedoes streaked ahead like ravenous piranhas in search of prey, swimming through the void at near C-speeds.

 _The Triumph of Deliverance_ and the Dominator class _The Avenger of Khuegan_ , however, did not fire any torpedoes as like the Firestorm frigates, they lacked torpedo launchers. Instead, fitted at their prow was an alternative weapon with devastating firepower.

"All power to the nova cannon," Jamieson ordered, his eyes focused on the Chaos ships that were coming into view. Marking a single Devastation class cruiser in the Chaos fleet, he brought his hand down. "Kill that ship."

Both _The Avenger of Khuegan_ and _The Triumph of Deliverance_ complied, the respective weapons officers engaging the controls and pulling the trigger. _The Avenger of Khuegan_ fired first, the exotic projectile streaking across the void.

A Carnage class cruiser jinked sharply, almost caught in the resulting detonation. As the massive round from the nova cannon imploded, creating an artificial singularity in the void, the Carnage cruiser accelerated forward, throwing all power to its engines to avoid death. However, the implosion was too close, the artificial singularity clawing at the Carnage cruiser's rear with irresistible force. Its void shields collapsing, the entire behind of the Carnage cruiser simply vanished, frozen ice and suffocating crewmen pouring out of the gaping hole as the mortally wounded ship drifted out of control. With its engines dead and plasma generator simply gone, the Carnage cruiser was all but crippled, a sitting duck awaiting a cold, merciless death in the void.

 _The Triumph of Deliverance_ fared better. The massive nova cannon round found its target, the deadly projectile colliding with the Devastation cruiser and tearing through its void shields. In an instant, the entire midsection of the ship ceased to exist, the two ends of the ships crumbling and being drawn toward the miniature black hole that had taken the bridge's place.

And then the torpedoes struck.

The Chaos fleet was unable to evade in time, the torpedoes descending upon them like a swarm of piranhas in a feeding frenzy. Void shields rippled and sizzled as torpedoes detonated across them, the accumulated explosions overloading the defensive screens and exposing the Chaos ships' bare hulls to the void. Seconds later, the second barrage of torpedoes struck home, their silent screams tearing through the void and penetrating the super-thick armor. An Idolator class raider blew up, the escort ship unfortunate to get in the way of pack of torpedoes seconds after its void shields failed. Beside it, another Iconoclast destroyer crumbled, the few torpedoes ripping through its relatively thin armor and exploding within.

The bigger ships, however, withstood the torpedoes, most of them on point to maneuver away from the second barrage of torpedoes. While most of them either avoided the torpedoes or endured them altogether, not all of them emerged unscathed. A heavily damaged Hellbringer light cruiser limped away, its hull marked with dozens of detonations and gaping holes where the torpedoes had torn through it. The lighter escort ships took the brunt of the attack, their thin armor vulnerable to the lethal hail of torpedoes.

Admiring the handiwork of his fleet, and the chaos he had sown through the Chaos ships, Jamieson smiled.

"Launch the fighter wings," he ordered. "And reload the nova cannon."

The Mars battlecruiser doubled as a carrier for fighter crafts. In most modern naval warfare, the preferred trick was to send in the fighters to soften the enemy right before the bigger, capital ships came in to mop up the wounded fleet. Jamieson had launched the torpedoes and fired the nova cannon first in order to avoid causing collateral damage among his fighters. With the Chaos fleet totally unprepared for the attack, he was able to take advantage and inflict heavy casualties on them.

For now, he had to rely on the fighters stored in the ordnance bays of _The Triumph of Deliverance_. The nova cannon might be exceedingly powerful, but that fearsome firepower came at a cost. The nova cannon required notoriously long load times, which might prove the difference between life and death of a ship exchanging city-obliterating power in the void.

Even as the fighters streaked away enthusiastically from the launch bays of _The Triumph of Deliverance_ , the Mars battlecruiser was already trading long-range lance fire with the enemy. A red lance from a Hades class battlecruiser skimmed past the surface of _The Triumph of Deliverance's_ void shields, causing the ship to shudder. _The Triumph of Deliverance_ responded with its own lance turrets, the white-blue energy arcing across the black space to bite at the Hades battlecruiser.

All around him, the other ships of the Explorator fleet were opening fire and identifying targets on their own accord. _The Divine Faith_ dueled with a Styx class battlecruiser, the lance turrets and plasma macro batteries roaring as they flung destructive projectiles and energy at the opponent. Several Firestorm frigates converged on the Styx battlecruiser, their lances streaming dangerously. One Firestorm frigate blew up as the Chaos ship's macro-turrets and missile pods hurled high impact projectiles at it, the smaller ship vanishing in a cloud of smoke and plasma vapor.

 _The Avenger of Retaliation_ closed in on the Styx battlecruiser, opening up with all its broadside cannons. The Tyrant class cruiser boasted a large array of plasma macro-batteries in addition to its usual macro-batteries, and it was now bringing those lethal weapons to bear, crushing and flattening the already warped hull of the Chaos ship. _The Divine Faith_ lashed out with another enraged beam from its lance turret and the Styx battlecruiser finally fell, strobes of red and bluish-white light erupting throughout its body. For a moment, the detonation of its plasma generators flared like a miniature sun, swallowing the hurtling debris of the ship and causing smaller escort ships to tremble in its wake.

 _The Avenger of Khuegan_ drew closer to _The Triumph of Deliverance_ to aid the flagship in its duel with the Hades battlecruiser, its nova cannon finally reloaded and armed. The next second, the Dominator class cruiser shuddered from the recoil as the projectile sailed from its cannon. The enormous round collided with the thick hull of the enemy battlecruiser and imploded, erasing a large section of the ship and causing it to spin uncontrollably. _The Triumph of Deliverance_ closed in on the wounded capital ship, opening up with its macro-battery to finish the Hades battlecruiser off while fighters descended upon the crippled ship to sting it in its last moments.

Jamieson couldn't help but smile proudly. He was the former captain of _The Avenger of Khuegan_ and thus very familiar with its abilities and the devastation its nova cannon had wrought on countless foes. He had pulled more than a few strings to have his former Dominator class cruiser included in the Explorator fleet and those efforts and concessions were being rewarded right now. _The Avenger of Khuegan_ , now commanded by Captain Venris, was dishing out its fair share of hurt to the Great Enemy.

However, the Explorator fleet was not without losses. The Chaos fleet responded with brutal, defiant retaliation, their red lances, missiles and macro-rounds a chaotic maelstrom of destruction. An Acheron class battlecruiser pounded _The Guardian of Faith_ to near oblivion before the nova cannon round from _The Triumph of Deliverance_ intervened. As the Acheron battlecruiser shook from the tremendous impact, its marco-turrets and missiles going off course, the Lunar class cruiser limped away, its engines almost dead. Jamieson watched the retreating cruiser in concern, aware that another round from the macro-turrets would obliterate it. Already the Acheron battlecruiser was dishing out angry red lances in defiance, the energy weapons scarring the raw, crumbling hull of _The Guardian of Faith_.

Half of the escort ships had been lost as well, the Firestorm frigates having been reduced to just six and the Cobra destroyers to two. The reason for their demise made its presence known with a bellow from its lance turrets and macro-batteries. _The Avenger of Retaliation_ found itself the unfortunate victim as the Despoiler class battleship closed it on it. The Tyrant class cruiser was sent reeling as its void shields barely held against the barrage from the terrifying flagship, which was sidling up next to the hurt Acheron battlecruiser to support it. Rallying around the Despoiler class battleship, a pack of vengeful Iconoclast destroyers and Hellbringer light cruisers sought to annihilate the Explorator fleet that had so impertinently intruded.

However, the Overlord class battlecruiser soldiered on, its heavily armored prow ramming into a Hellbringer light cruiser. The lighter ship simply broke apart as _The Divine Faith_ ploughed into it, transforming into a shower of fiery debris. _The Avenger of Retaliation_ too found itself in a similar predicament as it accelerated to escape the Despoiler battleship, colliding with an Iconoclast destroyer during its retreat. It was fortunate that the Tyrant class cruiser had a similarly armored prow that protected it from the worst of the ravages as the Chaos destroyer crumbled around its front.

Jamieson gritted his teeth as he swung his ship around to face the new threat. "Is the nova cannon ready yet?" He barked at his weapons officer, who answered in the negative. Picking up the vox, he yelled into the system. "All ships, fire torpedoes at that enemy battleship. I want it dead. Right now!"

The remaining ships responded, the two Cobra destroyers firing their final payload of torpedoes before vanishing into twin titanic explosions as the Despoiler cooked them with its lance turrets. _The Divine Faith_ followed with a relentless barrage of torpedoes, as did _The Avenger of Retaliation_ who swung around to point its armored prow at the enemy, eager to retaliate for its grievous wounds. _The Guardian of Faith_ , who had by now retreated to a relatively safe position, also slowly swung about to fire its torpedoes in a last act of defiance before its demise.

Which, fortunately, did not come.

As the Despoiler battleship braved the hail of torpedoes that detonated mercilessly across its sleek hull, throwing its void shields into disarray, it continued to stubbornly trade fire with the Explorator fleet. Another Firestorm frigate exploded into a storm of fire, torn apart by the vicious bombardment of the enemy flagship. _The Triumph of Deliverance_ shuddered as lances and macro-rounds struck it with ruthlessly, gradually eroding the void shields.

And then the Acheron battlecruiser closed in with reckless abandon, eager to sacrifice itself to take down the flagship of the Explorator fleet.

"Emergency maneuvers!" Jamieson shouted when he saw the Acheron battlecruiser drawing dangerously close to _The Triumph of Deliverance_. A suicidal ramming tactic, no doubt. However, even as the Mars battlecruiser opened up with its broadside cannons, the fighters swarming the Acheron battlecruiser in an attempt to break it apart before it reached _The Triumph of Deliverance_ , the enemy ship endured with surprising sturdiness.

And then the Acheron battlecruiser vanished in a furious supernova of heat and fire. Countless plasma macro-rounds hammered the wounded ship, penetrating its hull and reaching all the way to its plasma generator. As bluish-white lances raked through the Chaos ship, even more plasma macro-rounds found their way deep into the Acheron's superstructure, detonating freely within the collapsing framework. In an instant, the Acheron battlecruiser was gone.

"This is Admiral Draverre, of _The Hammer of Marinas_ ," a voice came over the vox as the Retribution class battleship slid into view, its plasma macro-batteries firing a vengeful roar of destruction. "We thank you for coming to our aid."

"The gratitude is ours, Admiral," Commodore Jamieson replied, unable to keep the relief out of his voice. "We are all happy to carry out the Emperor's will."

"Yes, indeed. But an appreciation for your help is in order. My battlefleet was tasked with investigating sightings of a Chaos fleet in this system, but we never imagined that they would ambush us over Ruefal."

Ruefal, Jamieson saw, was a bright yellow planet in this system. It was nearby, an earth-sized planet orbiting the system's red sun. As he pulled up data in his pict-screen regarding the planet, he saw that it was barren, a hostile world saturated in a toxic environment that forced its inhabitants to dwell mostly underground.

"Clarification." Jamieson started when Trozac spoke up. The archmagos had been so quiet throughout the entire battle that he had forgotten that he was there. "When you said they ambushed you over the death world of Ruefal, did you mean they used the planet as cover to spring the ambush, or were they already in orbit around Ruefal and you just happen to stumble upon them?"

"That..." Admiral Draverre sounded as if he was caught off guard. "Well, according to our sensors, the Chaos fleet was already in orbit around Ruefal when we arrived in the system."

"Fascinating," Trozac remarked, more to himself than to Draverre. He seemed to stare into space, but Jamieson had no doubt he was studying some sort of data in the invisible noosphere that streamed around the tech-priests' consciousness. After a moment, he turned to stare at the commodore with those unsettling artificial augmented ocular devices. "Commodore, could you please close the distance between our ship and that Despoiler class battleship?"

"What for?" Jamieson blurted out. Instead of answering, however, Trozac tapped into the battlecruiser's communication systems through his noosphere.

"Colonel Ikeda, I have a request. Can you assemble several squads of your vaunted Kamikaze Troopers immediately?" There was a pause as Trozac waited for the Draconian commander's reply. "I would like to send a boarding party. We are going to board the enemy battleship."

* * *

Tanaka rushed toward the ordnance bay where the tanks of the Draconian Armored Defense Force were being held, and alongside them, his Knight.

"They are organizing boarding parties!" he excitedly called out to his sacristan, Houzou. "I want to join them!"

Indeed, even as the black and gold uniformed Kamikaze Troopers marched out of their barracks to fall in at the hangar, adjusting and sealing their void armor to prepare for a battle in vacuum, a squad of Skitarii Vanguard and Sicarian assassins were gathering into ordnance launch pods that were similar to the revered Space Marines' drop pods.

"Are you sure there is a big enough launch pod for your knight, sire?" Houzou asked affably. The old man had flipped up his protective mask to look upon the young Tanaka with a sagely, wrinkled face. Tanaka nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure!" Gesturing at the Kamikaze Troopers, who were streaming into Taurox Prime APCs, he explained. "There are launch pods designed to carry over vehicles such as APCs and walkers. There is an experimental one designed for super-heavy walkers such as my Knight."

"Ah, very good, sir." The older man looked upon Tanaka with fatherly affection. "Then you'll be glad to know that I have modified your Knight for close-quarters combat in confined areas. Such as the ship you'll be boarding."

Tanaka looked up, vaguely aware that his Knight was different. As he stepped back to get a wider view of his Knight, he understood the difference. His former Knight Crusader had its right arm stripped off, the rapid-fire battle cannon replaced by a Reaper chainsword.

"I took the liberty to swap the arm weapons, sir," Houzou explained as he wiped his gloved hands off his overalls. "Particularly when I heard rumors about this mission regarding the exploration of narrow temples. Well, you'll be fighting in confined corridors in a battleship, so perhaps this is a more appropriate situation for the change. Besides, the battle cannon was damaged so I had to replace anyway, and I thought you might want another weapon that allowed for a more up close and personal fighting style."

"Uh, thank you, Houzou." Tanaka did not know what to say as he gazed up as the shiny, new Reaper chainsword that had replaced the battle cannon that used to be his Knight's right arm. To be honest, Tanaka was not a fan of engaging in melee combat, preferring to keep his distance from the target and firing high-impact, long-range projectiles from safety. However, he knew that Houzou was right. The battle cannon was unwieldy and impractical in closed spaces such as a battleship's corridors, and the installation of a Reaper chainsword was much more practical. "I appreciate it."

"I'm sure you do, sir."

Forcing a smile, Tanaka climbed up the ladder and reached the higher platform that allowed him to enter his Knight. Stepping into entrance, he found himself sliding down into the Throne Mechanicum of his Knight. Immediately, the pict-screens and auspexes around him came to life, the Machine Spirit of his Knight purring as it woke from its slumber.

Tanaka could feel the aggression that coiled from within the Throne Mechanicum, the phantom voices of predecessor pilots whispering to his psyche. Unlike most Knights throughout the Imperium who require their pilots to link to their machine through neural cords, the Knights of Draconis III followed upon a more ancient design most similar to the Knights of House Taranis on Mars. That meant Draconian pilots did not need physical neural links to connect their minds with their Knights and become one with their machine. Instead, the Throne Mechanicum was saturated with ethereal, almost psychic power, that almost congealed the air inside the cockpit.

It felt liberating.

As Tanaka felt his mind psychically linking with his Knight's, he began moving his machine. The gears and pistons in the super-heavy walker's legs whirred to life as they began stretching and creaking to adopt some vague manner of walking.

And then every other movement after that came naturally, almost as if the Knight was a part of the pilot's body, an extension of his own limbs.

"All right then." Tanaka's lips curled into a feral grin as he allowed his Knight's aggressive enthusiasm to pour into him. "I was sick of getting bored, so I'm going to board the enemy's ship."

Powering his Knight, he began moving toward the experimental ordnance launch pod specifically designed for his colossal machine.


	6. Chapter 6: Too bored to board

Chapter 6: Too bored to board

"All right, listen up, troopers!"

Captain Hanzou barked up, his voice barely drowning out the rising crescendo of the launch pod's launch sequence. His well-disciplined Kamikaze Troopers stood at attention, and even though he was unable to see their expressions behind their Storm Trooper-issue masks and respirators, he knew they were listening intently.

"I know you're all bored of sitting around in the ship doing nothing, so we are going to board an enemy battleship. That ought to relieve you of your boredom. I mean, we're going in as a boarding party, so let's party!"

The silence that followed almost made Hanzou sigh. He had trained his Kamikaze Troopers well – they were flawless and carried his orders out to the letter with precision and discipline, but that came at the expense of their sense of humor. Oh well, nothing he could do about it.

"Well, anyway," Hanzou said, getting serious. "You know me, men. So I'll be upfront and honest with you. We are boarding the flagship of the enemy to retrieve data, and if possible, to destroy it from within. As you know, such boarding missions are highly dangerous. Not all of us will be coming back from it. So if any of you have any doubts and want to drop out, now is the best time to do so."

No one budged an inch. Hanzou already expected that, already knew that his men would follow him to the depths of hell if he so much as issued the order to. Still, it was reassuring to see that the Kamikaze Troopers he led were fearless men of infinite courage.

In an armored Imperial Guard regiment that eschewed foot soldiers for armored tanks, the few men who persistently volunteered for infantry roles were consolidated into an elite Storm Trooper unit, tasked with carrying out surgical strikes and stealth operations. Undergoing the most punishing and harshest training regimens possible for mortals, the Kamikaze Troopers were the peak of human efficiency and discipline, almost equal to the revered Cadian Kasrkins and at least on par with the Grenadiers of the Death Korps of Krieg. A company of elite Kamikaze Troopers was attached to each Draconian armored regiment to complement the tanks in battle, for these ferocious soldiers could carry out missions too delicate for their more unwieldy brethren.

Often dropping into the battlefield on their grav-chutes after insertion drops from Vendetta gunships, Kamikaze Troopers crippled the enemies of Mankind by ruthlessly destroying high-value targets and installations, or assassinating a xenos leader, slaying the beast by cutting off its head. It was fitting, perhaps, that their namesake – a term cast in the ancient languages of their ancestors once living in Old Terra, meant Divine Wind, for the airborne Kamikaze Troopers would ride on Emperor-blessed winds to deliver His judgement upon the Imperium's foes with divine vengeance.

For this mission, however, Hanzou's company would not be riding their usual Vendetta gunships. They would be boarding the Chaos Despoiler-class battleship via experimental launch pods. Unlike the drop pods usually utilized by the vaunted Space Marines, these launch pods had been designed by the Adeptus Mechanicus to fit vehicles, such as the Freeblade Imperial Knight who renounced his ties from House Yato.

As such, Hanzou oversaw his men jumping efficiently into the row of Taurox Prime APCs waiting for them in the hangar, the drivers starting up the engines and immediately gunning the armored personnel carriers into the launch pods once the nimble vehicles were full.

Hanzou couldn't help but smile as he watched the Taurox Prime APCs filing into the launch pods one by one. The enemy wouldn't be expecting a column of Taurox Prime from boarding parties, armored personnel carriers bristling with more firepower than the usual Taurox APCs or even the ubiquitous Chimera APCs that most of the Imperial Guard used.

And that was even before he included the single Imperial Knight that would be accompanying them…

* * *

Commodore Jamieson was not a happy man.

The battlefield was a treacherous environment where even the most skilled and tactically acute captains were hard-pressed to keep their ships in one piece, a space where massive macro-projectiles and angry red beams of energy beams burned with apocalyptic fury, tearing through even the most armored of battleships into cold pieces of debris. And now he was expected to not only traverse such a dangerous, hostile terrain, but also to survive long enough to deliver troops into the Despoiler class battleship _and_ hold out long enough in such close proximity to retrieve those troops once they had stolen information on the enemy.

What he had previously thought was a simple cruiser clash had turned into a data retrieval mission, made much more complex by the massive destruction that littered the space with not just lethal weapons but debris that was spinning around uncontrollably, hitting friend and foe alike with meteoric forces. The void between the ships was filled with crisscrossing lances, and macro-cannons thundered with blistering volleys that struck home at such close ranges.

It would be a miracle if he could weave his battlecruiser into such perilous conditions without being blown up by the bristling macro-cannons and vengeful lances of the Despoiler battleship before reaching even ten thousand kilometers of it, never mind survive long enough to safely deliver his cargo within the maximum distance of six thousand kilometers the launch pods were capable of flying before being swatted out of the sky by the ship's anti-ordnance weapons.

But as a faithful servant of the Emperor, he had to do it. No questions asked.

"Bring us closer," he ordered, his incredulous crew looking up at him but obeying nonetheless. Switching his vox frequency, he connected to the leader of the Kamikaze Troopers tasked with boarding the Despoiler battleship. "I hope your troops are ready, Captain Hanzou."

"We're as ready as we'll ever be," came the curt response. Jamieson nodded and clicked off the vox to return his attention to the crew. The Kamikaze Troopers could take care of themselves. He had heard of their reputation on Draconis III, and had no doubt they would complete the mission when given the chance.

It was his job to give them that chance, however, by bringing _The Triumph of Deliverance_ within boarding range of the Despoiler battleship.

"All power to the void shields," he said as the battlecruiser's hulls shuddered from the impact of detonating macro-shells. "Get us close to that Despoiler class battleship, close enough for us to ram it."

An idea came to him then as he watched the Despoiler battleship's void shields flicker from taking the brunt of projectiles hurled from the Imperial macro-batteries. The boarding parties would be unable to reach onboard if the shields were still up, but if he were to cause enough damage to overload the shields, he might be able to kill two birds with one stone.

"Divert some power to the engines and accelerate the ship," he snapped to the ship's engine officer, who responded quickly with an oath under his breath. Letting that breach of protocol slide, Jamieson continued. "Prepare for ramming action."

That brought an excited murmur from his crew. Now they were far more motivated to draw closer to the Despoiler battleship.

 _The Triumph of Deliverance_ accelerated, heedless of whatever ships were in its path. Having been notified of Jamieson's course of action, the other ships of the Explorator fleet kept their distance, pummeling the enemy with macro-batteries, torpedoes and lances while evading the chaotic retaliation the Despoiler battleship's escorts flung back at them. Void shields rippled as macro-batteries struck home, the ships drifting past each other and letting loose with volley after volley of broadside fire.

The Despoiler battleship was seemingly slow to react, probably because it had been closing in on the Explorator fleet itself in order to bring its full arsenal into play. Jamieson's maneuver must have caught the commander off guard, for it was struggling to swerve around to face _The Triumph of Deliverance_. The massive battleship was too slow and unwieldy, however, as the swifter battlecruiser rammed into it with its armored prow.

The impact almost threw Jamieson and his crew off their seats, the tremendous force sending tremors across _The Triumph of Deliverance_ 's superstructure. The Despoiler battleship fared worse, reeling from the collision and spinning helplessly away to the side. _The Triumph of Deliverance_ 's starboard macro-batteries roared their approval, the deadly projectiles tearing through the dying void shields and slamming into the beleaguered armored hull, causing it to buckle. With the shields down and the thick adamantine layers succumbing under devastating pressure, large holes opened up in the surface of the corrupted battleship.

"Launch the launch pods now!" Jamieson hollered into his vox as he righted himself in his seat, nodding at his weapons officer in praise for having the initiative to open fire with the broadside macro-cannons. At his order, the ordnance bays slid open and dozens of launch pods hurtled out of the hangar, crossing the tiny gulf of darkness between the two tremendous ships and seeking whatever openings the macro-batteries had ripped open.

Jamieson watched as the tiny slabs of adamantine disappeared into the cavernous openings, the darkness of the ship welcoming them like distorted maws of a ravenous mutant. Only the Emperor knew what lay within those blasphemous walls, and Jamieson did not envy the boarding parties' dangerous duty of venturing into the stronghold.

Still, it needed to be done, and he had carried out his part. The rest was up to the brave men of the elite Draconian Kamikaze Troopers and the lone Imperial Knight that had accompanied them. Making the sign of the Aquila, he prayed for their success.

"The Emperor protects."

* * *

Hanzou barely felt the tremendous forces that acted upon his body when his launch pod was forcibly flung out of the ordnance bay, nor did he register the shuddering impact that followed when the launch pod found purchase in the enemy ship. As the magnetic locks clamped firmly into place into the metallic hull, the titanium door fell open, allowing the Taurox Prime APC he was inside to immediately kick off and drive into the unknown.

The Taurox Prime had been built to operate in extremely hostile environments, even the cold vacuum of space - just as well, as the ragged hole _The Triumph of Deliverance_ blew into the hull of the Despoiler battleship had depressurized the interior and sucked out the air. Fortunately, the arcane technologies incorporated into the Taurox Prime's chassis included life-support systems, and the magnetic force in the Prime's tracks ensured that the APC could continue to traverse the metallic corridors even in the absence of gravity.

The driver, Ishida, gunned the engine, and the Taurox Prime roared silently in the cold vacuum that replaced the space of the interior, grinding determinedly through the confined corridors. Whatever Chaos scum that had once inhabited these spaces were now gone, either suffocated to death by the sudden absence of air or sucked out into the cold, merciless void.

Those that remained, and survived, were none other than the superhuman traitor Space Marines, who stubbornly clung into alcoves, kept alive only by their corrupted power armor. As the Taurox Prime accelerated through the corridor, they threw themselves out of safety, opening up with bolter fire that screamed soundlessly through the void and pinged off the armor of the Taurox Prime with even less efficiency.

Nonetheless, Hanzou knew that the thinly armored walls of the Taurox Prime would not last under a sustained hail of bolter fire. The Taurox Prime had traded durability and armor for speed and flexibility, and did not possess robust hulls like Leman Russ tanks or even the Chimera APCs that their Imperial Guardsmen counterparts used. Without pause, he leaned forward in his passenger seat and squeezed the trigger of the Taurox gatling cannon mounted on top, unleashing a hail of punishing streams that sent the heavily armored figures staggering. Their power armor, made to hold up in the void, unsurprisingly withstood the shower of bullets, but Hanzou had another idea in mind. Reaching for another control, he fired a salvo of hot-shot volley beams that seared through the void in a blinding ruby flash and vaporized the Chaos Space Marines instantly.

"Keep moving and link up with the others," he told Ishida through the vox, aware that the vacuum was unable to carry sounds across. The launch pods had dispersed and scattered across a small area of the Despoiler battleship, separating the individual squads, but Hanzou had no doubt that his subordinates would attempt to gather into a large armored convoy, making use of their superior speed and firepower to forge a path to the bridge.

There, Hanzou had orders to hack into the consoles and dataslates present in the bridge to download any data and information the enemy might have, and then bring it back to _The Triumph of Deliverance_. A simple task, perhaps, but complicated by the complete lack of intelligence on the ship's defenders, their strength and firepower. Already a minute into embarking into the battleship and they were greeted by a small squad of Chaos Space Marines hardy enough to survive the cruel vacuum of space.

Hanzou was certain that there were many more of the Great Enemy awaiting them. It did not matter. He had his orders. All he had to do was cut down any foe who dared stand in his way.

There was also the secondary mission of causing fires within the battleship, disrupting and distracting the enemy's attention from the Explorator ships that were dueling them. Such diversions would force the enemy to redirect resources into containing the damage, and allow the Kamikaze Troopers to proceed with their mission relatively unimpeded.

However, that was only of secondary importance. If his troopers followed his orders to the letter, Hanzou was sure that they would all rendezvous at the pre-designated point that they were briefed on. As the Taurox Prime raced through the corridor that widened up into a more open space, a huge bulkhead ahead slid open, as if to welcome them in.

 _So they know we are here_ , Hanzou thought, though that wasn't much of a surprise to him. _I guess they're ready to party with the boarding party._

As the Taurox Prime hurtled through the doors, the bulkhead slammed shut behind them, sealing off the vacuum and enshrouding them in sterile air once more. Hanzou wasn't worried about the route of escape being cut off. The Taurox Prime or meltabombs his command squad carried to set off fires in the ship would be capable of melting a hole through the thick metal. Instead, he was more concerned with reaching the ship's bridge and retrieving the data.

"Captain Hanzou."

A voice crackled over the vox. Hanzou picked up the receiver and acknowledged the transmission, feeling pleased when he saw another three Taurox Prime APCs pull up into the cavernous interior the Kamikaze Troopers now found themselves in. Consulting his dataslate, he was relieved to see that the old schematics of the Despoiler battleship the Adeptus Mechanicus possessed were still used in the ancient design of this particular ship. It meant their chances of getting lost in the labyrinthine networks of corridors were minimal.

Furthermore, if the schematics continued to be correct, there would be a wide, open space for the Taurox Primes to drive through. Able to traverse through any kind of terrain with their rugged tracks, the Taurox Primes would definitely deliver their passengers to their destinations and back to the launch pods in spite of any obstacles...barring their destruction.

"Let's form up and go," Hanzou instructed, unwilling to waste any time. Now that all his Storm Troopers had gathered, there was no reason to hang around. There was only so much beating _The Triumph of Deliverance_ could take while struggling to remain in orbit around the wounded Despoiler battleship. They had to execute this mission quickly, get in fast, get out fast, and deliver the data to Command for analysis.

The small convoy of Taurox Primes took up formation without any further orders from Hanzou, the drivers efficiently carrying out directives indoctrinated into them from their Spartan training on Draconis III and other death worlds, adopting a diamond-shaped formation that allowed the vehicles at the back to offer overlapping fields of fire.

As they sped toward the bridge, Hanzou noticed a trio of huge abominations shambling toward them, flanked by power-armored squads. As bolter shells pinged against the side and rear of the Taurox Primes hurtling forward, Hanzou saw through his auspexes multiple armored figures emerging from the shadows and leveling a steady stream of projectiles at the lightly armored vehicles.

It was an ambush.

"Emperor's Throne!" Hanzou swore as he reached up and unleashed a hail of rounds from the Taurox gatling cannon, sending a barrage at one of the squads that was flanking the convoy. "Fire at will! Eliminate the enemy!"

The enemy, Hanzou bitterly acknowledged, knew their tactics well. Other than the first stop where a few stragglers had attempted to fire upon them, they had run into little resistance thus far. The Chaos Space Marines had been waiting to lure the Kamikaze Troopers out into the open, without cover, where they could unleash all their heavy weapons without restraint.

Worse were the three Helbrutes lumbering toward them. As the Taurox Primes fired their various gatling cannons and missile launchers, the deadly rounds and projectiles swerving into the ranks of traitor Astartes and dealing substantial damage, the Helbrutes charged straight at them. The first of the corrupted walkers smashed into the lead Taurox Prime, his power fist plowing through the screaming metal and denting the front in. The other arm pressed right into the window and released a searing blast from his multi-melta, all but vaporizing the front canopy and instantly disintegrating the driver.

The passengers filed out of the doomed Taurox Prime without hesitation, disembarking with impeccable discipline. Two of the Storm Troopers armed with meltaguns raised their anti-tank weaponry to fire at the Helbrute responsible for the destruction of their transport, but the second Helbrute opened up with his Reaper autocannon and tore the duo into bits before they could get their shots off. The surviving Kamikaze Troopers dispersed into the cover of shadows or debris as they had been trained to reflexively do so, countering with a hail of ruby hot-shot las-fire at the Chaos Space Marines, their enhanced lasguns ineffective against the Helbrutes.

Instead, the anti-tank role fell to the other Taurox Primes. The Taurox Prime at the rear barked furiously as it launched two krak missiles at the Helbrute in revenge for its fallen comrade. The first detonated ineffectively against the Helbrute's front armor, but the second sent it staggering backward, blowing off a chunk of metal and rotting flesh from the monstrous walker.

With an inhuman roar, the Helbrute charged the Taurox Prime, his multi-melta flashing vengefully and searing off a thick plate of metal from the front. The rear Taurox Prime desperately reversed, firing its autocannons, which had little effect on the Helbrutes' heavily armored front. The drivers of the remaining Taurox Primes also threw their gear into reverse as they sought to avoid the remaining two Helbrutes that drew closer.

"All units, disembark!" Hanzou barked, his voice booming over the bellow of missile launchers, the whines of hot-shot las-fire and shrieks of bolter fire. "Grab your anti-tank weaponry and _bring them down!_ "

Even as his troops rolled out of the Taurox Prime, bringing their weapons up to snap-fire at the rampaging Chaos Space Marines and Helbrutes while simultaneously running to cover, Hanzou could see that there was no escape. They were trapped, caught between the deadly overlapping fields of fire laid down by the Chaos Space Marines and the berserk charges of the vicious Helbrutes.

Swearing, Hanzou was about to abandon his vehicle too when something massive loomed over him. The Helbrute that was damaged by the rear Taurox Prime's missile launcher earlier was kicked into the air and sent hurtling across the wide open space before slamming into the thick steel walls and sliding down like a broken toy. Even as corrupted fluids and cracked metal leaked from its disfigured body, the monstrous walker fought to stand back up and roar in defiance. Engulfed in rage, the Helbrute launched itself back into the fray at a frightening speed that belied its ungainly form.

However, the newcomer barely paid any attention to the damaged Helbrute, instead swinging his reaper chainsword at the second Helbrute. The growl of the whirring giant chainsword sparkled with a power field that easily sliced through corrupted metal and decaying flesh alike as if they were melted cheese. The Helbrute fell apart into pieces as the reaper chainsword shrieked through him, innards spilling out of his ruined husk. The Chaos Space Marine entombed within was reduced into a bloody mess of shredded flesh, his vital signs fading as the life-support systems failed.

Hanzou looked up at his savior in awe. An Imperial Knight loomed over the Taurox Prime, the giant walker spitting out a staccato of Avenger Gatling cannon rounds from his left arm and raising the reaper chainsword from the remains of his enemy. Chaos Space Marines dove to the ground as the explosive rounds stitched cross their cover, half of their number obliterated as the armor-piercing bullets punched through their buckling power armor and reduced the superhuman soldiers encased within into bloody pulps. Three krak missiles flew from the Stormspear rocket pod mounted on the Imperial Knight's carapace, deterring the third Helbrute from approaching.

It was the Freeblade Tanaka, who had accompanied the boarding parties to help steal data from the ship.

The first Helbrute managed to get within range, raising his multi-melta to fire a searing blast of thermal energy at the enormous intruder, but Tanaka skillfully realigned his ion shield to catch most of the pointblank blast, negating the devastating damage it would have done to his machine. Swinging his right arm around, he effortlessly sawed through the crippled Heblbrute with his reaper chainsword, dropping him right next to his wrecked comrade.

The third Helbrute capitalized on the distracted Imperial Knight, whose attention had been diverted to his comrades, to flank Tanaka from a different angle. The multi-melta roared to life, lancing through the thick adamantine armor. The Imperial Knight stumbled, the servos whining in protest as the weakened metal fought to keep the machine upright. The next moment, the Helbrute barreled into the Knight, ramming its power fist into the face.

The helm crumpled as the destructive force of the power field enwrapping the power fist sparkled aggressively, denting the metal. Tanaka struggled to keep his machine balance even as he watched the thick canopy between the outside and his Throne Mechanicum crack. If this went on, the suit would be compromised and he wouldn't be able to venture back into the void where his launch pod waited. Desperately, he hammered the Helbrute with his heavy stubber, hoping to keep it off.

While Tanaka struggled with the smaller Helbrute, Hanzou bellowed at his men, several of whom had turned their heads to watch the awesome spectacle.

"Get back to the fight!" He snapped, firing the hot-shot volley gun mounted on the Taurox Prime to vaporize a couple of traitor Astartes impertinent enough to stick their heads out of cover. The decapitated bodies toppled backward, with only rising smoke an indication that something had once existed above their necks. "Quit ogling the Knight and eliminate the enemies before they shoot you!"

His men responded stoically, as he knew they would. A couple of his men, armed with hot-shot volley guns, propped up their high-powered weapons and scythed down an entire squad of Chaos Space Marines with a fusillade of ruby las-fire. The appearance of the Imperial Knight had turned the tide against the ambush force, the traitors clearly not expecting a super-heavy walker to be among the boarding party.

But once they had recovered from their shock and regrouped, they were certain to take countermeasures. Hanzou had to ensure they weren't given the opportunity to do so.

As the Helbrute continued to relentlessly pummel the stunned Knight with his power fist, Tanaka finally countered by bringing a metallic knee to the brutish shaped walker and knocking him back a few paces. Taking the chance to widen the distance between the two, Tanaka quickly brought his reaper chainsword down, carving the Helbrute into two with the growling serrated teeth of his blade. With a wet plop, the two halves of the Helbrute dropped in opposite directions, the entombed Space Marine finally free from his perpetual coffin.

And in pieces, Tanaka might add.

With a bellow of challenge, the Imperial Knight ambled to the nearest concentration of Chaos Space Marines and unloaded a stream of promethium, incinerating the hidden figures with his heavy flamer. Those that survived the extreme heat, stumbled out of their ruined cover, their power armor ablaze. The Storm Troopers stepped in to finish off the survivors with their hot-shot lasgun while the Imperial Knight turned his attention to the remaining pockets of Chaos Space Marines now in full retreat.

The Avenger Gatling cannon whirled to life, spitting out a steady stream of armor-piercing rounds that caught the fleeing cowards in their backs and mowed them down. The Kamikaze Troopers advanced cautiously, sweeping the area for survivors and pouring a rain of hot-shot las-fire into any enemy who still breathed.

"Let's go."

Tanaka impatiently stomped toward the bridge, his machine still smoking from the damage it had taken from the multi-melta and power fist. Eager for glory, he could feel the aggression of the machine spirit dwelling within his Knight. The taste of combat and sweet victory was intoxicating, and the Helbrutes had been worthy challengers. Tanaka was enthusiastic to claim more kills to his name, one of the habits he was unable to shake off as a Knight of House Yato.

There were more worthy enemies awaiting him here, he was sure of it.

"Wait, Sir Tanaka."

On the other hand, Hanzou was assessing the situation cautiously as he rounded up his men.

"We should proceed together. My Kamikaze Troopers will escort you, so give us a bit of time to regroup and reorganize."

"There's no need for that. We're on a tight schedule, aren't we? We need to recover the data as fast as possible. Besides..." Tanaka scanned the area with his auspexes, trying to uncover any threats that lay in wait beneath the ship's walls. The spirits of past pilots whispered in anticipation, and he could feel their aggression seeping into him inside the Throne Mechanicum. "I can go ahead and clear a path for you and your soldiers to follow."

"It's dangerous. You need escorts."

"Dangerous?" Tanaka snickered. "What can possibly threaten my Knight? _Ryujin_ is an Invincible Behemoth. There's nothing on this ship that can destroy it."

"Sir Tanaka, I must insist..."

But Tanaka was no longer paying attention to him. He had moved his machine forward, advancing toward the bridge. He was an Imperial Knight, a minor noble. Even if he had severed all ties to House Yato, he maintained a great deal of prestige and status as a pilot. No Imperial Guard commander, Kamikaze Trooper or otherwise, had the right to command him.

As he stepped through the corridor that the dataslate said would be the most direct path to the bridge, he suddenly felt his machine tumble to the side. The pict-screens and auspexes in his Throne Mechanicum lit up as red, warning signs screamed at him.

A Contemptor Dreadnought had slammed into him the moment he had entered the corridor, his power fist curling and hammering into the Knight. As the adamantine armor creaked and groaned in protest from the merciless grip, the Contemptor Dreadnought pressed his other arm against the protesting leg of the Knight. Tanaka watched in horror as the familiar thermal flash of a multi-melta lit up his screens, almost blinding him. Unable to redirect his ion shield in time, he felt his Knight buckle as its leg was almost severed off at the knee, the metal glowing red-hot from the devastating blow and hanging by a few mere joints.

"Emperor's teeth...!"

Cursing, Tanaka attempted to bring his reaper chainsword up, but the ancient walker nimbly avoided his clumsy maneuver and flung several missiles from his havoc launcher, the projectiles exploding right at the Knight's face and expanding the cobweb of cracks in the armor. Spinning around gracefully, the Contemptor dreadnought punched the Knight, sending Tanaka off balance and crashing into the wall.

Tanaka struggled to regain control of his machines, desperately squeezing the trigger and firing his Avenger Gatling cannon and heavy stubber wildly in order to keep the Contemptor Dreadnought at bay. However, most of his armor-piercing rounds went wild as the Comtemptor Dreadnought shoved against him further, and the heavy stubber rounds had no effect on the ancient machine, the few bullets that somehow made it through the Hellfire Reactor shields pinging harmlessly off the armored hull.

Reaching up, the Contemptor Dreadnought tore the heavy stubber out of the Knight with his power fist, as if finding the weapon annoying.

Tanaka was filled with dread. He had heard of the ancient Contemptor pattern Dreadnoughts, whose legendary lineage could be traced back to the Horus Heresy. Constructed from an ancient but far more advanced design than modern Dreadnoughts, the Contemptor patterns were said to possess far more power, strength and firepower, fitted with an Atomantic Shielding that rendered them invulnerable to all but the most powerful weapons. He had never thought he would actually face one of these ancient walkers in combat, but to think that he would be outmatched this badly...

If he could only bring his reaper chainsword up, he might just be able to destroy the Contemptor Dreadnought. However, his opponent was much too close, making it too unwieldy for him to slice it open. As he struggled to kick off the Contemptor as he did the Helbrute earlier to open up sufficient distance to swing his reaper chainsword, he could only gaze helplessly as the Contemptor Dreadnought brought his multi-melta up to his cockpit, the barrel still smoking and glowing red-hot from the previous charge of thermal energy.

At this range, there was no doubt the already damaged adamantine armor would be breached, and Tanaka would definitely be disintegrated by the melta blast.

"Sir Tanaka! Hang on!"

Suddenly, Tanaka felt a huge jerk as the Contemptor Dreadnought was forcibly flung off his Knight. Blinking as he consulted his auspexes in confusion, he saw two scorching gouges in the ancient machine, delivered by a couple of meltagun-carrying Kamikaze Troopers. Reinforcements had arrived, and Hanzou's men had saved him at the last moment with their own melta weaponry.

However, the Contemptor Dreadnought was far from downed. He vengefully raised his power fist trigger its in-built heavy flamer, washing the two Storm Troopers in a blazing wave of promethium. Both men were incinerated before they even got to scream, their melta weaponry blowing up from the extreme temperature.

Their sacrifice bought Tanaka all the time he needed.

With a desperate plea to the furious machine spirit, he coaxed his Knight to move, lurching to his feet and impaling the Contemptor Dreadnought with his reaper chainsword. The destructive melee weapon tore through exotic shielding and thick armor alike, causing the ancient machine to writhe in agony. With a bellow, Tanaka slashed the reaper chainsword down wrathfully, blowing up the ancient walker in an explosion of hellfire.

Panting from the near-death experience, Tanaka had his Knight limp away from the scene of destruction, keeping his sensors and auspexes peeled for any more enemies.

"Thank you," he said quietly, not at all blaming Hanzou or his men for the stony silence that followed his expression of gratitude.

Hanzou was now reorganizing his surviving men into the remaining Taurox Primes and driving toward the corridor Tanaka was now in.

"Sir Tanaka," the captain spoke up. "Return to the launch pods and get your machine back to _The Triumph of Deliverance_. We will take over from here."

"But I can still fight!" Tanaka protested weakly, aware that his machine's unsteady sway brought little credibility to his words. "Please, let me spearhead the assault..."

"With all due respect, sir," Hanzou said, his cold tone bereft of any respect. "With that magnitude of damage on your Knight, you'll only slow us down. As you pointed out earlier, we're on a tight schedule, and time and speed are of the essence. My men and I cannot afford to wait for you to keep up, and neither can _The Triumph of Deliverance_."

Tanaka fell silent, dread filling his soul when he recognized the truth in Hanzou's words. Unable to bring himself to speak, he moved his Knight in the opposite direction and trudged glumly back toward the launch pods.

There was no honor for him to earn in this battle. Instead, his recklessness and arrogance had brought about shame. Had he still been a part of House Yato, his fellow Knight compatriots would laugh at him for stupidly charging in like a grox and getting his machine severely damaged right in the middle, for failing to see this mission to its end.

And he deserved it.

"I'm sorry about your men."

Tanaka finally found the courage to apologize, but Hanzou was having none of it.

"My men are all prepared to die in the name of the Emperor. They did what was expected of them. I expect the Emperor to be honoring them right now."

Tanaka said nothing. In contrast, he failed to do what was expected of him and was forced to retreat partway during the mission. This would forever be a stain on his reputation, a blot on his honor.

With no further words to impart, he returned to the launch pods.

* * *

The data retrieval mission was a success. After the Kamikaze Troopers reached the bridge, they downloaded the information from the corrupted consoles into servo-skulls that would be quarantined once brought back to the Adeptus Mechanicus priesthood aboard _The Triumph of Deliverance_. Captain Hanzou returned safely with his men, losing another Taurox Prime and two squads of Kamikaze Troopers in the process. But they were able to safely reactivate the launch pods that then flung themselves back into the awaiting Mars battlecruiser from which they were launched from.

 _The Triumph of Deliverance_ had been battered by the Despoiler battleship as it struggled to hold its position to await the return of the boarding parties. Despite the Explorator fleet's best attempts to destroy the weapons batteries on the Despoiler battleship, the enemy retained a fearsome array of lance and marco-turrets that punished _The Triumph of Deliverance_ brutally for maintaining a close distance to it.

"All power to the engines," Commodore Jamieson ordered once he received confirmation that the last of the drop pods were aboard _The Triumph of Deliverance_. "Ueda, get us out of here."

"Sir, the engines are damaged," the engine officer replied as he struggled to steer _The Triumph of Deliverance_ clear from the Despoiler battleship's retaliatory bombardments. The shudders of explosions against the flickering void shields punctuated his sentence. "We can only move at half of our original maximum speed."

Jamieson gritted his teeth as _The Triumph of Deliverance_ limped away in a frustrating crawl, the Despoiler battleship hot on their heels. Despite countering with lances and macro-batteries, and the other ships tearing into its flanks with torpedoes and plasma macro-batteries, it was clear that _The Triumph of Deliverance_ would be unable to outrun the Despoiler battleship before either of them was destroyed.

Captain Baleren was able to conclude that from his view aboard the Overlord battlecruiser, _The Divine Faith_. His fingers digging into the armrests of his throne, he watched as his flagship was mercilessly bombarded by the vengeful Despoiler battleship. Assessing his options, he called up a variety of tactical displays across his pict-screens, calculating several strategies in his mind and dismissing the majority of them as impractical. He had to act quickly, or all would be lost... _The Triumph of Deliverance_ could not be destroyed, or this whole data retrieval mission would go to waste.

As he consulted his tactical displays, he noticed that his ship was the closest to the Despoiler battleship. Gritting his teeth as a risky plan formed in his mind, he turned to his crew.

"All hands, brace for impact. All power to the engines. We're going to ram that Chaos battleship."

His crew responded without question. Baleren was grateful for that - he knew that every man and woman he had hand-picked for his crew were loyal to a fault, and would follow whatever instructions he gave without hesitation. Already the engines were growling, _The Divine Faith_ picking up speed and racing right at the Despoiler battleship.

 _The Divine Faith_ had its armored prow enhanced for ramming, and this was one instance ideal for that upgrade. As torpedoes detonated against the Despoiler battleship's hull, shorting out the failing void shields and blowing out more chunks from the already weakened armor, _The Divine Faith_ plowed right into the Despoiler battleship. The screaming metal, whose sound was lost to the unforgiving void, was unable to handle the stress and the superstructure finally broke apart. The Despoiler battleship was actually thrown off course as its midsection broke around _The Divine Faith_. The Overlord battlecruiser continued onward, its engines screaming in defiance as the ship hurtled through the two broken pieces of the Despoiler battleship.

But Baleren wasn't done yet. Not by a long shot.

"All weapons!" he yelled. "Fire!"

The booming crescendo of macro-cannons sent a jolt through the ship as broadside batteries on both sides hurled deadly projectiles at the now exposed interior of the drifting Despoiler battleship. Within moments the black space was lit up by plasma explosions that washed over the darkness with bluish-white fury. The cascade of energy slammed into _The Divine Faith's_ void shields from both sides, overloading them and blackening the gold rust-red hull of the Imperial battlecruiser.

Though _The Divine Faith_ survived the shockwaves, it was heavily damaged. Drifting helplessly in space, its engines dead, the Overlord battlecruiser was all but a blackened husk that was forced to rely on emergency power as plasma generators failed. The crew and troops stationed aboard the ship were still alive, but just barely, and unless _The Divine Faith_ received emergency repairs from the rest of the Adeptus Mechanicus ships, they would not remain that way for long.

As if sensing a wounded prey, the remaining Chaos ships descended upon both crippled battlecruisers like sharks catching the scent of blood. However, the escort ships were literally swatted out of space by wrathful red lances and merciless plasma macro-batteries, their thinly armored hulls breaking apart as energy beams and massive projectiles hammered into them.

"All Imperial ships, this is _The Hammer of Marinas_ ," Admiral Draverre reported as the last of the Chaos escort ships spiraled away from the wounded battlecruisers, spilling debris and corpses into the cold void. "The Chaos fleet has been destroyed. This is a great victory for the Imperium, and we've earned great glory for the God-Emperor of Mankind. I repeat, we have won."


	7. Chapter 7: Data Entry

Chapter 7: Data Entry

Colonel Ikeda wasn't sure if holding a strategic meaning in _The Triumph of Deliverance_ was a good idea.

Normally, the highest-ranking officers would gather in the largest ship – in this case the Retribution class battleship _The Hammer of Marinas_ – but Archmagos Omnid Trozac insisted on holding it here. As the commander of the Explorator fleet, he held almost absolute authority over the majority of the imperial ships in the system, so even Admiral Draverre had to defer to him. In addition to Admiral Draverre, a young colonel who was in charge of the Imperial Guard regiment stationed aboard _The Hammer of Marinas_ accompanied him to the meeting.

The leaders had gathered around a round table that the Imperial Navy had set aside for official, grand meetings such as these. All around the conspirators drifted servo-skulls, their glowing red eyes watching their owners unblinkingly. Servitor-scribes rolled across the room, their mechadendrites mechanically scribbling down notes and minutes for their masters. The chirping of the servo-skulls, the sounds of the auto-quills scribbling across parchment in some sort of patterned order, and the fixed movements of the servitors made the bustling in the room seem like some sort of procession. The Adeptus Mechanicus might claim to value logic and technology over all else, but in truth the Cult Mechanicus adhered to an esoteric dogmatic system of rituals to an extent that rivaled even the Ecclesiarchy in religious fanaticism.

In the center sat Trozac. No…it would be more appropriate to say that he was standing, his heavily augmented body held straight by metallic spines and an assortment of mechanical enhancements. At either side of him, various human representatives of the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy were seated comfortably in lush, leather chairs made from the hide of some exotic species from an agri-world in some far-off corner of the Imperium.

"I have gathered you all here today because I wish to share the contents of the info we have hijacked from the enemy battleship."

"That's very generous of you."

The words were out of Ikeda's mouth before he could stop them, but thankfully Trozac merely inclined his hooded head at him. The Tech-priest was evidently oblivious to sarcasm.

"It seems that the Great Enemy was planning to retrieve an artifact from the planet below."

At a wave of his mechadendrite, a pict-screen depicting a large, yellow planet. Its surface was barren, with vast expanses of deserts stretched across continents separated by thin lines of oceans. Large clouds of sulfur hung over the atmosphere, giving the world its distinct bright color, as well as granting it a toxic environment that no unaugmented human could survive in unprotected.

"There's an artifact buried below?" Commodore Jamieson asked, studying the pict-screen and solemnly taking note of the planet's properties. While he wasn't going to participate in a planetary expedition, he would at least like to know what kind of world his fleet was going to orbit over. Particularly if there was a need for him to launch a planetary assault. "There doesn't seem to be any sign of life in the planet."

"It looks like Tallarn," Colonel Morgan, the commanding officer of the Mordian Iron Guard regiment attached to Admiral Draverre's fleet, commented. "Being a desert world and all that."

"It is a desert world, but the air is unbreathable," Trozac explained. "That said, the Leman Russ tanks that the Adeptus Mechanicus provides should more than suffice in keeping your tank crews protected from the toxic environments. As long as the seals hold, even unaugmented humans should be able to operate without suffering any dire consequences."

"That's good to hear," Ikeda muttered, even though inwardly he loathed the idea of sending his regiment down. However, the moment Trozac mentioned Leman Russ tanks he knew the Archmagos expected his armored regiment to make planetfall. "So we just need to stay inside our tanks the entire time."

"About that…it seems that a previous civilization has built underground shelters on this world. There are no longer any signs of human inhabitants, of course, but the shelters seem to predate even the Great Crusade…most likely relics from the Dark Age of Technology. We have no idea what has happened to the occupants, but scans from our augur arrays indicate that these shelters are still intact. My Skitarii maniple will be accompanying your ground troops in hopes of recovering these ancient technology."

"And the artifact the Traitor fleet was trying to retrieve?"

Archmagos Trozac's expression remained hidden behind his mechanical mask and respirators, but it was clear from his voice that he would have smiled had he still possessed the flesh and muscles to do so.

"All the more we should seize it right from under their noses, shouldn't we?"

Ikeda had to grin at that as well. "Of course. As the Emperor wills it."

"We of the Astra Militarum will guarantee our full cooperation," Colonel Morgan added stoically, placing a hand against his crisp, blue uniform. Ikeda balked at that.

"Astra Mili…what? You're in the Guard, son."

Morgan didn't take that to heart, instead ignoring Ikeda in favor of sucking up to the others. It was most likely a coincidence – but Ikeda didn't think so – that Trozac chose that very moment to adjourn the meeting and dismiss everyone. Ikeda suspected that the Archmagos had already anticipated that Morgan would begin his political games of flattery and intrigue.

"I'm sure the Astra Militarum regiments will need time to prepare. Our tech-priest enginseers will begin conducting safety checks to ensure all the seals are working properly, and that the tanks will not fail us in the world below. You all will be busy, so I suggest you…get to work immediately."

"Yes, Archmagos."

The Imperial Navy officers departed quickly, presumably to resume their shipboard roles. No doubt they needed to begin preparations for placing their ships in orbit around the planet – now dubbed affectionately as Sulfax – in order to empty their holds of the troop shuttles and transports. Ikeda himself made for the temporary regimental headquarters that his unit set up in _The Triumph of Deliverance_ , heading to Captain Hanzou's side to discuss the deployment. That was the original plan, but he caught sight of Colonel Morgan sidling up to the Storm Trooper captain.

"Captain Hanzou. It is an honor to fight alongside the venerated Scions of the Militarum Tempestus."

It was Hanzou's turn to balk this time.

"Mili…what Tempest? Oh…I think you're mixing us up with the Tempestus Scions from the Schola Progenium. We're old-school Storm Troopers. You know, like the Cadian Kasrkins and Death Korps of Krieg Grenadiers? We're the Draconian Kamikaze Troopers."

"That's still admirable," Morgan insisted. "The Schola Progenium Scions are just glory boys. The old-school Storm Troopers are still the most respected soldiers in the Imperial Guard."

"Uh huh." Hanzou had absolutely no interest in his flattery. Catching sight of Ikeda, he seized the chance to leave. "I also look forward to fighting alongside the revered Mordian Iron Guard. In any case, we have a lot to prepare for, so I must take my leave for now…"

"Yes, yes, I understand. I will have to return to _The Hammer of Marinas_ too."

Morgan nodded as if in understanding and turned away to leave, much to Hanzou's relief. As Ikeda reached him, he shook his head in disbelief.

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy?"

"They are all not like that. I've fought alongside the 52nd Mordian once…they displayed one of the most disciplined formations I had ever seen – even in the face of enemy fire. Against a wall of charging Orks, no less."

"Yes, of course. I've heard legends about the revered Mordian Iron Guard too."

"It's just that this guy…I've seen his ilk before. He's a politician, a highborn who snuck his way into the high ranks of the military by status or family connections." Ikeda didn't hide his displeasure. "We should watch out for him. I think the Mordian training regime would have crushed out any reckless tendencies he might have of proving himself, and he did look disciplined and able to keep his men in line, but I'm more worried about…what he plans to do behind the scenes."

"Duly noted."

"Speaking of which, how is our other highborn?"

Hanzou shrugged as he maintained his uninterested expression. Clearly he did not care about the wellbeing of Draconian nobles.

"He didn't show up at the meeting."

"He's not a commander. It is not necessary for him to attend."

Ikeda sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure what happened, but Tanaka went and locked himself up in his room after returning from the boarding mission. I know he's technically not under our command and all, but I would really appreciate it if he could deploy alongside us. The Emperor knows we will need his Knight's firepower to back our tanks up."

"Oh, he'll join you all right," Hanzou assured the weary Colonel. "And you might perhaps find him a lot more…obedient than before."

* * *

The transports swooped over the barren, sandy terrain, their hatches opening to disgorge the contents. The moment the shuttles set foot upon the makeshift hangar that were set up by the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus who had arrived ahead of the Imperial Guard regiments, the Leman Russ tanks began rolling out of the metallic ramps.

At the back of the countless columns of Leman Russ tanks were the super-heavy Stormsword tanks, their sheer mass dwarfing the smaller armored vehicles ahead of them. Bristling with heavy firepower – encapsulated in the Stormsword siege cannon that could level entire blocks of city into rubble, burying the enemies hidden within those cover in apocalyptic fire – the Stormsword tanks were the pillars of the Draconian armored regiment, always escorted by Leman Russ sentries to protect them from infantry and other tanks.

Colonel Ikeda shifted uncomfortably in his commander seat aboard the Stormsword _The Emperor's Wrath_. As a precaution in case battle damage caused a leak in the seals that protected the tank crews from the toxic environment outside, the crewmen were required to wear environmental suits. Designed to guard against the deadly atmosphere and gases that swirled about the sulfurous regions of Sulfax, the suits were designed for pragmatism over comfort. The thick material clung to his body like a second skin that threatened to molt away whenever he shifted, and the huge respirator hung heavily from the front of his face, blocking most of his view and causing him to choke on recycled air. The large goggles that pressed against his eye sockets had limited peripheral vision that was glazed over from the blurry lenses, which irritated Ikeda to no end whenever he tried to visually scan the external terrain for enemies.

So far there was no sign of any hostile life-form in the desert. The Chaos Fleet they had defeated earlier didn't seem to have landed any troops beforehand, so it was unlikely that they would encounter any Traitor Astartes in Sulfax. Additionally, the environment was so toxic that even Chaos Space Marines in power armor were unlikely to survive in the atmosphere. If the Great Enemy truly had landed ground troops upon this world, they would most probably be traveling around in armored convoys like the Draconian Imperial Guard regiment.

"We'll be heading to the shelters to secure them."

The vox to Ikeda's right crackled to life as Hanzou contacted him. Acknowledging with a mumbled affirmative, Ikeda turned his sights to the right. A sleek, stealthy-looking transport had nestled several hundred meters away, its belly open to allow a row of Taurox Primes to drive out. The Storm Trooper-exclusive APCs were able to traverse any kind of terrain, including the uneven ground of the desert and the unknown interior of the shelters.

Above, Vendetta gunships soared overhead, keeping an eye out for anything amiss in their air patrols.

As the Leman Russ tanks continued to pour out of the dozens of transport ships that had settled upon the temporary hangar, one particular transport ships caught Ikeda's eyes. Instead of a Stormsword, a single Imperial Knight lumbered after a group of Leman Russ tanks, its hulking figure belying the grace of its movements.

Ikeda had been relieved when Tanaka agreed to come along with the armored company. The Draconian noble had been somewhat subdued, but at least he wasn't locking himself up in his room and sulking over something. Ikeda had seen a lot of nobles do that, throwing a tantrum and kicking up a fuss when they did not go that way, but he was glad that Tanaka was humble and respectful enough to listen to the common Imperial Guardsman. Truth be told, Tanaka didn't behave like most nobles he knew. He would have been surprised about Tanaka's status if he hadn't known that the young man was a Knight pilot.

Then again, even among nobles, Tanaka was pretty low-ranking, so that could account for his uncommon behavior.

"Should I help the Kamikaze Troopers?" Tanaka asked, his voice soft over the vox. Ikeda thumbed the receiver.

"No, it's all right. They should be able to handle it. We need you to escort the convoy, if you're all right with it."

Even if Tanaka did not act like it, his position meant that Ikeda had to defer to him, or at least address him respectfully. While Ikeda took to Tanaka's informal attitude, he knew he shouldn't take the Knight for granted.

"Yeah, sure. I will do that then. I'm with the 4th Company right now. Should I escort them?"

"Yes, please do."

Behind _Ryujin_ was a gigantic Stormsword which slowly ambled after the super-heavy walker. At Ikeda's affirmation, the Imperial Knight took up the head of the armored formation, allowing the smaller Leman Russ tanks to fall back and surround the Stormsword in a protective formation. The Stormsword, _Sightless Moon_ , maintained a steady speed at the center, its Stormsword siege cannon moving and tracking for targets.

Not like there was anything to fire at in this vast empty expanse of land and sand. At least for now. The information the Adeptus Mechanicus provided had mentioned about early human settlers that lived in those shelters that dated back to the Dark Age of Technology, but evidently something had happened to them to drive them off the planet.

Or slaughtered the entire human population.

Ikeda didn't like to think about the possibilities.

As he pushed the dark thoughts away from his mind, his vox chimed again. With a sigh, he picked it up, and a female voice crackled through it.

"This is Sky Hunter One. I spotted movement down at coordinates two zero double eight."

Sky Hunter was one of the aerial patrols. Ensign Urushibara, if he recalled correctly. Consulting his dataslate, he saw that her Vendetta was skimming over the east of the hangar. Pursing his lips, he switched the frequency to respond.

"What did you see? Can you elaborate?"

"No. It looks like…a living organism, but it dug back into the dirt when I circled back to confirm the visual. I didn't get a clear look at it before it disappeared."

Ikeda felt a chill run down his back. He had some vague idea of what that living organism could possibly be, but he hoped that he was completely wrong. There was also the possibility that Urushibara had mistaken something in the terrain for a living thing, but if she actually saw it dig underground, it was unlikely.

In any case, he needed to check it out. There were few things that could survive in such a hostile environment, and most of those did not take too kindly to human intruders from above. The pilots of the Vendetta gunships were out of the question, as the airborne Vendettas were not meant for groundwork, and the pilots did not possess the weapons or equipment necessary should they run into hostile bio-organisms. Instead, he would need to send a ground squadron there to investigate. Consulting his dataslate again, Ikeda saw that the coordinates weren't too far off from their landing base. A half-hour drive at cruising speed, maybe. The creature shouldn't have gotten far before the tanks reached there.

Closing his eyes and listening to his own breathing inside his respirator mask, he thought for a second. Running the numbers in his head, he took note of where his various squadrons were positioned. Most of them were still forming up, getting ready to enter the shelters once the Kamikaze Troopers secured them. The closest squadron to the east was…

"4th Company."

"Yes, Colonel?"

Major Tsukishima responded immediately from his station aboard _Sightless Moon_. A good man with a calm head over steady shoulders, he had commanded 4th Company for over a decade, having headed it just a little while after Ikeda assumed overall command over the 42nd regiment itself. Ikeda had known him for a long time and knew he could rely on him.

"Take your company to the following coordinates." Ikeda uploaded Urushibara's coordinates into the noosphere so that Tsukishima could view them on his dataslate. "There seems to be a sighting of some living organism over there. See if you can find it, and determine if it's hostile."

"Yes, sir."

Like Ikeda, Tsukishima had read through the data the Mechanicus had provided regarding Sulfax. There weren't supposed to be any living organisms on the planet, and anything sturdy enough to survive the toxic atmosphere was most likely dangerous and hostile. It could be an indigenous creature that had evolved and adapted to the harsh conditions of Sulfax, of course, but Ikeda was taking no chances. Not when this planet happened to attract the interest of the Chaos fleet.

Tsukishima seemed to share his sentiment, ordering his tanks to move out.

The lone Imperial Knight figure that spearheaded the armored vanguard also turned and proceeded toward the east silently. Ikeda smiled despite himself. Tanaka must have believed that the orders to escort 4th Company encompassed this new directive and had taken it upon himself to lead the convoy. That was probably a good thing – the _Ryujin_ 's immense firepower was not needed now, not when the regiment was waiting for the Kamikaze Troopers to sweep through the abandoned shelters. He would better serve 4th Company who was moving out to the unknown.

Ikeda watched as the Imperial Knight disappeared into the desert, flanked by the squadrons of tanks that rumbled over the sand and kicking up a howling sandstorm. With Tanaka at the head of the formation, he was confident that no matter what that creature was, the Imperial Knight would be able to deal with it. Even more so, if that creature turned out to be one of many – in which case, Tanaka should be able to flush them all out with his suit.

Or so he hoped.

* * *

Hanzou kept his illuminator on the narrow corridor of the shelter, checking the ceramite for any indication that someone – or something – had been dwelling within. Something the auspexes and sensors from the Mechanicus ships above had missed, perhaps a survivor.

The shelters, remarkably enough, had remained in good shape despite the countless millennia that had passed since their construction. After going through decontamination, the chambers still in good working order, the Kamikaze Troopers had to disembark from their Taurox Primes and sweep through the area on foot.

"The facilities are all working," Ueda noted. Hanzou nodded in agreement.

"Yet there are no servitors maintaining it."

"It's from the Dark Age of Technology," Chigusa pointed out. "Perhaps the shelters are maintained by ancient technology rather than servitors."

"Very true."

"Whatever the case, keep your eyes open," Hanzou told his men. He wasn't really interested or curious about the lack of servitors or the arcane technology the shelters relied on to keep itself running. All those techno-wizardry and mumbo-jumbo were for the Tech-priests. His job, as well as that of his troopers, were to ensure the area was safe and secure.

"The auspexes aren't showing anything," Ueda reported after they turned down the corridor. Hanzou grunted.

"That doesn't mean nothing's here. Stay sharp and keep an eye out for anything unusual."

"The air in here is breathable, though," Chigusa observed as he tracked the readings in his respirator. "The filters seem to be working properly."

"It doesn't matter. Do not take off your masks. Nobody is to take any risk until the Tech-priests have come in here and certified that the air is actually breathable."

"The cogboys should sweep the area themselves," Yamada complained sourly as he pointed the barrel of his hot-shot lasgun down the corridor. "I mean, they're the ones with the augmetics and enhancements. They are the ones who can survive in a toxic environment like this with their mechanical lungs and everything."

"They might, but _we_ are the best personnel for the job." Hanzou did not let pride escape his words. He was merely stating a fact, after all. "I ain't letting no cogboy secure the area for us. They might miss something. It's safer if we do it instead of them."

None of the other Kamikaze Troopers responded, but Hanzou could feel the pride and confidence radiating from them. _Good_ , he thought. _That would maintain morale and make sure they do their damned job properly. Besides, it is true_.

Tapping into the clarion-vox network, Hanzou contacted his other squads, checking in on them to see if they had found anything.

 _"_ _No, sir."_

 _"_ _Nothing, sir."_

 _"_ _Nothing on visual, sir."_

Aomori, Chiba and Ootsuka all reported in, their respective squads spread across the compound to execute the same search Hanzou's command squad was conducting. Hanzou trusted the three sergeants as much as his own gut feeling, and he acknowledged their responses in satisfaction.

That said…

"Good, but make sure you don't let your guard down until your searches are completed."

 _"_ _Roger that."_

The three sergeants signed off in unison, and Hanzou left them to do their own thing. He knew it was far more inefficient to micromanage his men, and they tended to operate a lot better when he granted them greater autonomy.

As the command squad proceeded deeper down, Hanzou instinctively took note of the surroundings. There was a small segment in a room that could be used as cover in case they needed to fight, and dozens of empty rooms lined up against a steel corridor that seemed to run forever. Most likely personal cubicles that provided privacy, similar to the rooms officers occupied aboard a starship. There was also a giant room in the middle of the corridor, which looked like a kitchen. Even though the utensils and stoves probably had not been in use for countless millennia, they remained in good shape. Too clean, in fact, for Hanzou's liking.

Usually if they had been left untouched for so long, they should have accumulated dust. Yet the interior looked clean, as if something had been maintaining the place.

But who?

As they proceeded down the corridor, they eventually arrived at a junction that split off into a large meeting room. The furniture was neatly arranged, placed practically in the center so that the occupants could sit together to discuss all sorts of plans. The room was obviously empty now, but as with the kitchen and all the other utilities, it was remarkably clean despite its advanced age.

Hanzou was about to move again when Ueda stopped in his tracks, peering curiously at a corner of the meeting room.

"What's that?"

Hanzou paused. Turning, he followed the direction in which Ueda was pointing his hot-shot lasgun barrel.

There was something splattered against the wall and floor a few meters to their left. Not exactly blood, but not water or oil. Frowning, Hanzou approached the scene and knelt down, using his auspexes to scan the fluids.

"It looks like Tyranid slime."

At Chigusa's observation, Hanzou intantly jerked up. His auspexes confirmed Chigusa's comment – the composition of the fluids matched that of Tyranid's secretions by 98.7%. Not only that, the wetness indicated that whatever excreted those fluids had been in the shelter only recently.

Never mind the fate of the humans who populated these shelters all those millennia ago. Right now the humans who had just landed on Sulfax were confronted with a more immediate threat.

"All units!" he shouted, clicking his clarion-vox and opening his voice to all frequencies on the vox-net. "There are signs of Tyranid presence in the shelters! I repeat, there are signs of Tyranid presence in the shelters…"

His broadcast was interrupted by an inhuman screeching in the stagnant air within the walls of the shelter. Spinning around and raising his boltgun, Hanzou caught sight of movement at the corner of his eye. A flash of claws and fangs showed up in his visuals, and he depressed the trigger. The perpetuator disappeared into a shower of blood and flesh as the reactive-mass projectiles tore it apart before it could finish its jump.

All around him, the chamber exploded into a flurry of combat as Ueda, Chigusa and the others opened up with hot-shot rounds from their hot-shot lasguns and hot-shot volley guns. Ruby beams of energy lit up the shadowy corridor as they lanced through masses of writhing claws and appendages. Alien cries echoed through the shelter as the superheated beams ripped through them. Countless numbers of hideously mutated creatures swarmed, replacing their fallen comrades, only to be kept at bay by the relentless bombardment of hot-shot las-fire the Storm Trooper squad poured out.

Over the vox-net, Hanzou could hear the gunfire and yells of the other squads as they attempted to ward off similar attacks on their position. Grimly opening the frequencies as he blew off the head of another xenos – a Genestealer, by the looks of it – he calmly delivered his report.

"Command, this is Kamikaze One. The shelter has been compromised. We have encountered Tyranid lifeforms within its interior. I repeat, there are Tyranid organisms present in the shelter. Requesting backup."

Without waiting for a response, Hanzou rallied his men and led them to a more secure position where they wouldn't be surrounded. Remembering the segment of a room down the corridor that could be used as a cover, complete with a massive table that doubled as a barricade, he ran down the hallway, his boltgun barking as he put down Genestealers that came from the opposite direction. Flanking him was his men, their hot-shot weaponry howling in high-pitched rage as they unleashed death and destruction into the pursuing swarms.

 _I knew we would find something in here_ , Hanzou thought in grim satisfaction. _If we left this to the cogboys, they would never have run into the Tyranids_.

Well, that was unlikely, given how obvious the stain was, but Hanzou was sure his boys would perform better than the Skitarii in all aspects. That said, he could do with Skitarii reinforcements right now. As disciplined and deadly as his men were, they were still grossly outnumbered. For a moment Hanzou wished there was a squad of Skitarii Vanguard with them – their radium carbines would undoubtedly wreak all sorts of havoc among these many Genestealers.

It did not matter. His orders were to secure this place, and he would hold the line for as long as reinforcements needed to come. And then he would exterminate every last Tyranid organism inside this base.

All Hanzou hoped for was that the reinforcements would arrive soon, before his elite squads of Storm Troopers were overrun by the endless tide of Tyranids that seemed to be flowing out of every vent, crack and crevice in the shelter.


End file.
